My Favorite Things (a weekly or so appreciation of real life things.)

My Favorite Thing this week is Superglue.  (Thanks, Laura, for the idea!)

In our consumer driven society, and especially in the age of plastic disposable everything, and doubly so when marketing websites masquerade as lifestyle tip sheets, (ahem,) I would like to buck the system and post a plug for repair.  The benefits of repair are multifold: economical, self-sufficient, environmentally sound and overall kick-ass.  It teaches my kids the worth of a buck, it shows them that some things are worth effort and it illustrates our commitment to living a life more in line with our values - thrift, appreciation, simplicity and a desire to lower our impact.  It also gives me great satisfaction to save something useful instead of just tossing it out.

This week, my 80+ year-old father posted on his Facebook feed that he had spent over thirty minutes using acetone to unstick three fingers and a thumb he had unwittingly fused while doing some home repair.  Several people expressed surprise and sympathy for him.  Those of us who know him well were like "Thirty minutes?  Well, it's not the record but it's definitely on the high side for him." And obviously he was successful otherwise he wouldn't have been able to type that.

My father often describes himself as 'clumsy'.  This is not really the case. While I'll admit that as he ages, he is not as spry as he once was, and his reactions times are slower, but he breaks no more nor less than he did at 40, 50, 60, or 70.  What my father is, is distracted.  Continually, always, completely.  His brain never shuts off and he is always thinking of something else when he is doing things.  Thus, he may perch an object near the edge of a counter while he turns around to do something else, then immediately knock it to the floor when he swivels back.  This is a trait my oldest child inherited: the total inability to focus on what is at hand and follow it to its natural end.

My father's train of thought often lacks a caboose.

Thus superglue has been a staple in our home since its consumer introduction.  Good old Elmer's was used before then.  I have many many trinkets in my home that have been passed to me from my parents' homes.  Anything made of glass, ceramic, pottery, china, porcelain and in some cases wood usually has a crack, chip, or piece that has been glued back together.  My Step-mom's need for constant manipulation of her environment (re-arranging,) and my Dad's propensity to zone out while doing so were not an ideal fit. And so it is in my home.


I have a bucket full of fix-its that patiently wait while I mull about the best way to repair the damage.  My children know there are two kinds of damage:
1) A Come-Apart - this is something that can be fixed rather easily, or something that will require major surgery but warrants it because of the value of the piece, either emotional or monetary.
2) A Broken - this is something I'm thrilled to throw out, no matter if it is easily repaired or not, or something that is seriously beyond repair, no matter what its value.  Items below my kids development level, annoying noise-making things, ugly or useless items will be summarily tossed by me if they are damaged.  Other things, like a seriously sentimental spoon rest that gets dropped while drying it and smashes into a hundred pieces, gets an appropriate send off, including a detailed provenance while being swept up into the trash.  If it had been a clean break, I would have glued it back together but it was way beyond that.

Works like a charm!

I have been pretty lucky so far in my repair work.  I rarely *inadvertently* fuse skin, although I have had to abandon projects in the past because what looked like an easy repair turned out to be a nightmarish threat to kitchen counters and skin.  For my father, his thirty minute foray into surgical adhesion is not his first, nor will it be his last.  In fact the only reason he keeps acetone in the house is for this reason.  *Per the asterisk above, I do have another use for superglue.  I suffer from extremely painful skin splits which I have begun treating with superglue.  It stings like hell for a few minutes but ultimately the cyanoacrylate, (also used in surgical glue) works wonders for them.


While I was visiting over the Christmas break, my dad and sister and I went to the swap meet which presented the ultimate 'bonding' experience.  After being sold on the merits of a new improved formulation of instant glue, he bought us all a bottle.  (Three for the price of two!)  I have yet to use this new formulation, I'm saving it for something 'special.'

I will in the next few weeks, bring my chachkas down from the attic and unpack them for display as we put our living room back together.  A good many of these will bear battle wounds from run-ins with my father or children.  I will carefully position them with the scar in the back.  Their secret is safe with me.