I went through this phase, when I was 10 or 11 years old, where I wanted to be an international secret agent! My mom had me in Martial Arts from the 4th grade on, and I kept it up until college. I vividly remember wanting to fight bad guys, fix problems, and take care of business!
One of my favorite shows was: MacGyver
He went on adventures and took care of business, so I was inspired by him to say the least!
As a mom of two with a husband that works ninety-hour weeks, I have embraced my inner MacGyver on several occasions!
In case you are not familiar with the show, Macgyver is a secret agent. The original show came out in the 80’s but it has been remade in the past few years. The character is a quiet, mild-mannered, deeply principled, and refuses to carry a gun on his missions. Fortunately, the last detail is unimportant when compared to his brilliant mind. Drawing on a vast practical knowledge of science, Macgyver is able to make use of any ordinary materials around him to create crazy-awesome solutions to any problem he faces. The enemies of world peace and justice continually learn that underestimating this man is a fatal mistake for their plans. I cannot even tell you how many times I saw him escape death by fusing a bomb together out of some random objects like paper clips and a fancy battery! Ha! No joke!!
As the years went on and I became a wife then a mom, I had the confidence that I could just figure stuff out on my own when things around the house would break or malfunction! I know some of the confidence comes from my theatre background. At Northwestern State University and at WAAPA, we had to learn about technical threatre. We had to log so many hours in a shop, helping to build props and set pieces with all kinds of tools that I had never used. Instead of freaking out, I just embraced it and tried! Then came YouTube…..Oh Yeah! You can learn anything on the Tube!!!
The most recent project I had to tackle was replacing the handle on our master bedroom toilet. The piece that attaches to the inside from the handle broke off! And after a few days, it became super annoying to reach into the tank at the back of the toilet to pull the chain to flush each time. But my hubby is traveling with basketball, and working 7 days a week! So I took a deep breath, consulted YouTube, and went to Ace Hardware to get the piece I needed to get the handle fixed.
We can now keep the lid on the back of the toilet and use the fantastic handle to flush each time! Ahhhhh, heavenly!
If you run into this problem yourself, here’s the how to for you to refer to when you’re ready to tackle it!
Paperclips. Yes, I have my own MacGyver Mom paperclip story!
When I became pregnant with my little boy, I tried to wear my regular jeans as long as possible. I didn’t want to go buy lots of maternity clothes because I was just so busy! I was working at an elementary school full time. And after being there all day, I went to Rising Starz to teach acting and musical theatre. Plus, I was filling in when they needed for private twirling lessons. And I had taken on my online business part time to transition into, instead of teaching so much over the summer.
Anyway, one of the teachers I worked with suggested I take one of her paper clips and use it as a ‘pants extender!’ I was thinking, surely your not serious, but it worked!
Anyway, one of the teachers I worked with suggested I take one of her paper clips and use it as a ‘pants extender’! I was thinking, surely your not serious, but it worked!
All I did was unbutton my regular button and attach the paperclip around my button hole, and then used it as an extender around my button. Then, as my pants got even tighter, I traded my paper clip out for one of my teacher’s rubber bands. I loved that because it stretched more and was easier to use.
Then I consulted YouTube and found these fantastic maternity jean hacks!
The last time I consulted YouTube to figure a problem out is when I needed to remove my Otter Box phone case. I went to put my phone in the pouch you use to carry it in to go jogging, but could not get the case off!
I consulted YouTube and found that there were thousands of people who couldn’t figure it out, and realized so many other people had the same problem!
Instead of freaking out about it, I took a deep breath, researched the subject, and figured it out!
Really what it’s about is resisting the urge to freak out, and analyzing the problem at hand. Can this be fixed? Will my brain wrap around the concept of how this all works together? And is there a reasonably simple explanation of how I can get the parts and/ or fix it? …. Or just rig it to work until someone with more experience can help! Next time you’re in a bind because something breaks or you can’t figure it out: close your eyes, take a deep breath, and tap into your inner MacGyver Mom!
I always enjoy your blog. You have a gift for discussing family interactions in truthful yet amusing ways. It seems I can always identify experiences in my own family with those you describe. Your articles help us realize that our problems are typical, and we can solve them in constructive ways.
Thank you and keep these good articles coming.
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