The Washer's Hoses

Today I had a close encounter with my mother's washing machine.

You see, she wanted the new-improved steel-reinforced guarandamteed-to-almost-never leak hoses installed to replace the perfectly good not-yet-leaking-but-might-could-someday rubber hoses. This is frugal, in that we will save the water of a leak and the cost of a plumber and any repairs that a bursting washer hose might necessitate, like carpet cleaning. My mother's laundry closet could rival Fibber Magee’s and there were many minor avalanches just in the process of scooting the washer forward.

Once, the various debris that could be reached was cleared away, I moved the washer out even more. I managed to squeeze myself past the bifold door into the space between/behind the washer and the wall. I handed out all the rest of the avalanche items with lots of helpful comments like - "Why do you have this?" and "You use this for what exactly?"

The good news is that I had no trouble with any of the connections and got everything changed pretty quickly. The bad news is - - - -
I was stuck.

Using gravity and leverage to squeeze into a space is not the same when reversed. After assessing the situation, I moved the washer mostly back into place and squoze myself around to the side. But alas, the bifold door was not inclined to let me pass and I was not inclined to be replacing it next. There was no other choice I could see or think of except....you guessed it...... up and over.

Yes, indeed, there I was, one leg forward, one leg back, inching my way to freedom.... when the humor of me straddling the washer and being stuck, struck me. It is difficult to get anything done when you can't breathe because you are laughing so hard. Both me and my mom were momentarily paralyzed by laughter. Many obvious but uncharitable thoughts turned to jokes as I voiced them in the privacy of my home, and we howled some more.

All of this seemed to help me gain enough upper body strength to pull myself forward enough and make my escape. And no, there are not pictures of any of it.