I’ve always loved our neighbors and neighborhood. Living in Plum Prairie – Old Town Noblesville’s south side – has been great these past 27 years. We have wonderful local businesses and friendly people. And this week, our neighbors came to our rescue!
My husband John and I were rather surprised to encounter a clogged toilet last weekend. We had remodeled our main bathroom 18 months ago and had gotten one of those “virtually clog free” toilets. Our plunger had been literally collecting dust ever since.
John has been rather proud of the fact that he’s always been able to clear the clogs in the toilet with vigorous plunging. But this was different. No amount of plunging eliminated the clog. Things got progressively worse … to the point where our shower wasn’t draining well and our sink was making unusual gurgling sounds.
It was time to call Peterman Brothers.
After Dillon and Tex (you gotta love that name combination) looked over our system Monday, they delivered the bad news. Most of our old home’s pipes were done. It was time for a full replacement of new PVC pipes, adjusted to properly handle the flow of things.
As I picked my jaw up off the floor, the four of us planned for Peterman to return Wednesday to start the work. But before they could arrive, things got worse Monday night … to the point where we couldn’t use either of our bathrooms. Thankfully, our kitchen and laundry room pipes were separate.
By Tuesday morning, I was in tears and felt so helpless. But I quickly realized we could ask to use our neighbors’ bathrooms. My “Ask for Help” column tips came in handy.
John and our son Jacob were pretty much set with “visits” to a corner in our backyard. Unless #2 beckoned … then they had to go to a friend’s house on Logan Street.
With my anatomy, I had to rotate between our neighbors’ establishments – Ginger’s, Styles n’ Smiles, and The Whole Kit N Kaboodle – for bathroom breaks. Monica, Verleena, and Andrea were all so gracious and kind.
At one point, our next-door neighbor, Gabe, declared that our situation was rather crappy … except he didn’t really say “crappy.” We agreed with him.
We showered at our son Jonathon’s apartment Tuesday evening and hoped Peterman could get the entire job done by Wednesday afternoon. They arrived bright and early that day. It looked like a small plumbing parade approaching our house thanks to multiple trucks and a backhoe.
Our columnist’s neighbors helped her get through a poopy situation this week. (Photo provided by Amy Shankland)
By 3 p.m., the team was done, and we could return to normal. I’ve never been so grateful to be able to use our bathrooms in my life.
Throughout those two days, our neighbors and friends would check on us and said their doors were open for whatever we needed. I am so grateful. In my book, they’re truly #1 … well … once in a while they had to be #2 … but thankfully they still like us anyway.
Amy Shankland is a writer and fundraising professional living in Noblesville with her husband John, two sons, two dogs, and a cat. You can reach her via email at amys@greenavenue.info.