This bout of extreme cold weather has left me with water pipes that are frozen. As I wait for the guy to arrive and solve this problem for me, I am forced to reconsider my relationship with water itself.
Luckily, I have great neighbours next door. They are happy to fill my buckets, pots and my Brita jug with cold water.
The fireplace is gas, so I’ve devised a method of placing dutch ovens atop to heat the water. I still find myself turning on the taps on autopilot. You do get so used to having running water in the bathroom, in the kitchen.
It’s the same with hydro. You flick a switch and the lights are on. The stove heats up. The microwave instantly reheats last night’s leftovers and warms up the room temperature cup of coffee you left sitting on the counter while you schemed.
This is my latest foray into the idea of conservation. The power outage a few years back was also an awakening. As is this situation.
It’s true you can’t do everything yourself. You do need the help of others from time to time. I thought to steam the exposed pipes with a boiling kettle of water as I eased my anxiety. Knowing full well, the water pipes run along the exterior wall of the house, I hope this will make some small difference. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But I need to do something to kill time while I wait for the guy to arrive.
I’m not the kind that usually panics. I do have to rely on my creative and critical thinking skills to see my way thru this situation.
Things like, leaving filled pitchers near the sinks. Leaving a filled bucket (or two) of precious H20 in the bathtub for easy access to fill the toilet tank. I am not taking for granted just how fortunate I am that I have a home with taps. I live in a time where there are others who have less, no access to the creature comforts I have come to expect and automatically am used to having.
And while it would be easy to focus on the negative aspects of not having water, I will just use this experience to test my resilience, and patience. My latest mantra is: relief is not that far away. The phone rings. The guy is on his way.
