Crisis management

Three weeks without consistent heat and suddenly you learn things about each other you never knew. Like how Jake goes into full fix-it mode the second something breaks, while I immediately start researching backup plans and calling repair services.

Crisis management

Turns out we’re actually a pretty good crisis team. He handles the hands-on problem solving, I handle the logistics and contingencies. When the landlord kept putting us off, I found the tenant rights information while Jake figured out how to jury-rig the thermostat to keep us from freezing.

The weird thing is how normal it all felt once we got our rhythm. Not the being cold part - that sucked. But the way we just automatically divided up the work without discussing it. He’d come home with tools, I’d have researched three different heating companies.

Crisis officially resolved.

Now that it’s fixed (knock on wood), I keep thinking about how we handled it. No drama, no blame game, just two people figuring out how to make their home work again. Maybe that’s what living together really is - not the cute Instagram moments, but who you become when the heat doesn’t work and it’s 40 degrees outside.