The sound wasn't a shatter. It was a click . Then a single, elegant fissure arced from the bottom left corner toward the center, like a lightning bolt frozen in time.

Shine your UV light on the crack for 2 minutes. If you're using the sun, cover the rest of the window with cardboard and leave the crack exposed for 10 minutes.

For three weeks, I lived with the crack. I told myself it was "character." I told myself it added "thermal complexity." In reality, I was avoiding the four horsemen of home repair anxiety: Is this fixable? Do I need a new window? How much will this cost? Can I really do this myself?

Fill your syringe with resin. Touch the needle to the top of the crack. Do not press the plunger hard. You want capillary action to do the work. The resin should crawl down the fissure like a spider.