Ups and Downs

Not all ups and downs are of equal temper. Or value.


Our building is a well designed affair that provides rock solid construction of steel and concrete. Dressed on the outside with an ‘olde English design,’ the building is only 10 years old or so and is packed with modern conveniences. Lots of storage. Living spaces all on one level. Four floors with the first floor a large, gang garage, then 3 floors of condos. Half the building is rented to people like us. But we are treated the same as owners.


Our unit has 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, an eat-in kitchen, dining and living room, laundry, utility closet, and pantry/storage/guest closet room. Down the hall is our storage bin room, and of course the assigned parking space in the garage. The entire building is accessible without steps, although you can walk stairs if you wish!


An elevator is a key feature that settled our choice of abode.  It whisks us up and down at will.

Until it doesn’t.  sometimes it isn’t available due to power outages (not common). Occasionally it is out for inspection or maintenance (also rare). Currently it is down for repair.  Went out Saturday at noon and the repair crew diagnosed it and ordered parts. Those won’t be available until Monday. So, walking the dog is now a major issue.


Especially for me with bad knees, and emphysema. Stairs do not agree with my abilities or medical condition. Luckily I have wonderful neighbors who have insisted I stay put and let them do the walking. Pam has absorbed this duty bravely. We live on the fourth floor. It is no easy task to simply walk the dog. And Willow doesn’t walk down the stairs because she is going blind and cannot judge the distance of each step.  She will walk up the stairs!  So walking her means carrying her down four flights.  This is done four times each day.


Of course, I need the elevator to go to church, visit Rocky and do other routine errands.  This weekend I did manage to go down the stairs to get to church and visit Rocky. Climbing back up I realized I was there for the duration.


One solid benefit: I slept a great deal during the day. I then realized that I was still tired from hospital sitting and worrying about logistics of medical care for Rocky and maintaining home routines, too.  One upside of the elevator being down is I have time to recover from exhaustion I didn’t know I had.


So, there are the ups and downs of life all wrapped up in one tidy story!


July 24, 2019



 PS: The elevator saga is over. Repairs completed at 3 pm Tuesday. Freedom!