Our washer broke on Christmas Eve Day and we didn't get a new one until a month later! Anyone who has younger children knows that the laundry can pile up pretty fast and ours sure did. Our landlord did hire a reliable handyman and he did try to fix 4 different parts on 4 different visits, but this washer just did not want to be revived. Thanks to our friends, I was able to bring a few loads of laundry over to their houses, with the kids in tow, to tide us over so that we didn't end up being the stinky McCallums.
When we finally got a new washer, the boys were very helpful sorting the laundry and loading it up into the new machine to give it a whirl. I never thought I would be thankful to do laundry. I guess that is why we have the saying "never say never".