Life without water

As a kid, I remember taking late night stand-up baths because I thought they were quicker. You just wash what matters most, and then off to bed you go. Well, having reached adulthood, I never imagined going through that same process again. Fast forward now to the last week of August, 2009, and I am going through the same motions. Our water has been out now for three days, but fortunately we have a well. We haul water all day long –making sure that all the bathrooms are equipped, buckets in the showers full, and all the sinks in the kitchen ready for action.

For whatever reason, our well also has an abundant supply of dirt. This makes taking showers tricky. With a full bucket of water, you need to allow the dirt to settle, and then take your stand-up bath trying desperately not to disturb the dirt particles now resting on the bottom. Our showers have been less, our odor has been more, but life has still continued with this kink in the chain.

Our water pump is now being worked on, but being well accustomed to the Peruvian, “Oh, sure, that will be done tomorrow,” will allow me to still be surprised when the pump actually shows up –which in fact will not be tomorrow, or the next day, or probably this week. Someone finally brought over a little pump the other day, but the poor little thing has half the power. We now have water; occasionally. So, our bathing journey continues. When our normal pump finally does come, we will rejoice, but until them, we are loading up on deodorant and Axe. 8)