I can't, can I?

Now that I'm a "single woman", I'm realizing all of the things that I never learned to do because it was my husband's job. I've never used a power lawn mower, programmed the furnace thermostat, replaced the furnace filters, operated a weed eater, fixed a leak, cleaned the roof gutters, or any of the other hundred joys of owning a home. It's never been a question of whether I'm capable, it was a typical "his job vs. her job" marriage.

Last night I pulled into the parking structure at The Hult Center where I'm stage manager for the ACE production of 'Cats' when I noticed my left headlight was burned out. I immediately panicked knowing that I couldn't just tell my husband to replace it. On consulting with a long time friend, whom I've admired for being an "independent woman", she asked if I had the manual for my car. (long pause) Oh. Yes, I do. Feeling rather embarrassed I retrieved the manual and checked the car maintenance section.

This morning I put on a semi-grubby shirt (not too grubby - I am going out in public), my fingerless knit gloves (it's cold out), my new black Harley motorcycle boots (they need to be broken in), and a pair of super-baggy jeans. Although my other jeans would look better, I need them for the show tonight. I may be dressing to work on a car, but I'm still a girl! I don my headphones, grab a package of wet-wipes, and head out to the car.

The short version is that I managed to remove the burned out headlamp, buy a new one at Knecht's, and install it all by myself. I'm sure that next time it won't take me an hour and ten minutes since I now know what the book means by "swivel base, remove wire, replace lamp". Auto manuals are obviously written by men - short sentences, lots of blank space.

When the thought of being solely responsible for the house, yard, and car overwhelms me, I need to remember that I can do it, I just have to learn how. I momentarily forgot all of the many, many things I've learned to do over the years, most of them self-taught. I've always said that I can learn almost anything from a book; I taught myself to knit, sew, draw, quilt, cook, garden, basic SQL programming, build planter boxes, design decks, refinish wood floors, speak a little Korean, hang wallpaper, lay ceramic tile. There really isn't anything that I can't learn to do, if I want to. And for the projects that are too big for me, I can hire someone else to do them.

So while I will need to locate a reasonably priced handyman (I refuse to get on the roof), I'm sure I can handle everything else. I have a feeling that Google 'how to' searches are going to become my best friend!