WATER...WATER...(GASP!)

Okay, maybe I'm not as rustic country as I thought.

Our pump went out yesterday afternoon, and that means we have no water. Well, it means we have no running water. The kids ran next door to Grammy's yesterday evening and filled every available jug and bucket with water, which they hauled to our house. So, technically, yes, we do have water...to drink, to brush teeth, to make coffee. What we don't have is a lot of water to wash with.

I don't care how many wet wipes you use, or how much hand cleaner, you just don't feel clean without fresh, running water. Martha jogged over to Grammy's this morning to shower and wash her hair. Since I had to be here for MaryAnna's arrival early this morning, I decided to postpone my shower until later today...I feel so blechy without my morning shower!

After I got the baby down for her mid-morning nap, I sat down at the kitchen table and went over a math lesson with Helen. Once Helen was working on today's problem set, I set about the routine morning chores. Wash the breakfast dishes. Uh, nope. Okay, no problem...there's plenty more work to do around here!

So I go to the laundry room and begin sorting laundry. Then it occurs to me, no water - no laundry. Um, well, while I figure out what to do next, I'll make a glass of tea. I pour water from one of Grammy's jugs into the kettle and brew batch of tea. Lo and behold, I find there is no ice in the ice bucket in the freezer. So I fetch ice trays from the laundry room freezer and empty them into the bucket. Out of habit, I immediately step to the sink to refill the empty ice trays. Duh! I set the ice trays aside to refill later.

What's next on the list? "Helen, while you're working on math, I'm going to run outside and water the little trees." I head out the side door and around the back of the house. Guess what I discover? Well, if the water is not working inside the house, it isn't working outside the house either. I knew that. I just forgot. Helen and I both got a laugh out of that one!

I feel nasty, and like a large part of my day is on "Pause." I also feel like a big weenie, a wimp, because my ability to function is so greatly compromised by this temporary lack of water. Really, now, Laura Ingalls Wilder wouldn't have let this mess up her day!

The good news is, Steve has someone coming out to fix the pump later this morning. And, yes, I can make it through one day without running water. What if the problem takes longer than a day to fix? Well, I may have to move in temporarily with the neighbors. I don't think Grammy would mind, would she?

(Speaking of water/washing/being clean, here's a post from a couple of years ago that I came across recently. I'm so glad Jesus washes me completely clean!)