...it is not by the sword or the spear that the Lord saves...1Sam 17:47

I will dance and resist and dance and persist and dance. This heartbeat is louder than death. “ — Suheir Hammad

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Tapped

I like to think of myself as a fairly responsible adult.  I pay loads of taxes, hold down a steady job, eat sensibly and work out regularly.

Then yesterday my water got shut off.

My own stupid fault -I forgot to pay the water bill.  I even remember thinking about this weekend -hmmm, I think I'm late on the utility bill, I should pay that... then promptly forgot even as I was organizing my house.

I learned from the nice lady at the water place that I could pay rather a lot extra -in cash- and have it turned on last night, or suffer through the evening, show up at city hall in the morning and just pay what I owe, plus a small reconnection fee.

I shrugged, meh, I shower at the gym and I have several gallons of water here. I can ignore the dishes for a day. I can handle an evening without running water.

Now, living in AZ, even up here in the mountains, you learn about water conservation.  I never leave a tap running while brushing my teeth, for example.

But there was something about having to measure out potable drinking water for things like washing hands, flushing toilets or rinsing a dish that brought home to me the amount of water I still quite thoughtlessly use.  I kept thinking -what if I had to carry this water every day -like millions of people around the world have to do?  Would I let a tap run while washing my hands or turn it off until I need to rinse?  Would I dump the old water in Roxy's dish down the drain or use it to water plants?

This morning, I humbly paid my bill at city hall and was assured the water would be turned back on today.  So my immediate problem is solved.

Still thinking about water, though.

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