How I Know That I am (Still) Not Enlightened

Or, how conscious parenting – and all my other noble intentions – got sidetracked by my leaky plumbing.

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” – Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

I tend to think of myself as a water person. My favorite vacations are invariably near (or on) the ocean. It is perhaps the one place on this planet where I know that I will relax.

When I am home, in my typically landlocked condition, I find that I crave water. 

Regardless of the season, I want to be at the beach, now. When this option is not available to me, my swimming pool keeps me sane. When it is too cold for the pool, there is the hot tub on the back porch. When all else fails, my bathtub must suffice.

(I just realized – I’ve spent a great deal of my disposable income, over the years, keeping myself wet. What’s up with that?)

And then, there’s always that tiny fountain in my meditation corner. My children gave it to me for Christmas last year, because I told them I needed it.

It has been an interesting week, water-wise. As with most of the properties in this town, our water is supplied from a well – a deep, dark hole in our front yard that mysteriously delivers fresh, beautiful water to our home.

Sort of. As it turns out, the fresh, beautiful water buried deep beneath our home is actually kind of reddish brown in color, loaded with iron and other stuff and just a bit smelly. It comes out of the ground with a pH of about 6.0. In order to make it palatable – and to keep my laundry from turning a lovely shade of rust – we have what amounts to an industrial strength water treatment plant installed in our basement.

There are filters and salt tanks and UV lights, mostly working in harmony to deliver clear, odor-free, tasty water to our sinks and showers and toilets and washing machine.

Last week, not so much.

The problem had actually been brewing for almost a year. The UV system, installed to ensure no bacteria made it from the dark underworld all the way through to our drinking water, was doing its job quite effectively (as per our water tests.) Unfortunately, it gave the water itself a certain burnt smell. Yes, water can smell burnt. It can taste burnt, too.

In order to get rid of these problems – which had been plaguing me off and on since last January – I reluctantly brought the water guys back to install a charcoal filter, which was supposed to provide the final, polishing touch to our water. It would be perfect.

This is how I learned, that old saying is really true: If it’s only a little broke, don’t fix it.

As they left the house mid-last-week, the water guys cautioned that the charcoal filter might affect the water pressure just a bit. They would check with me the next day, to see how things were going.

By 10pm that evening, I had no water. None. Nada. It was a rather surreal experience, to turn on every faucet in the house and get nothing.

One slightly hysterical phone call later, they were at my door with a replacement filter. That worked a bit better, but not much. I was at least able to scrub the boys down and send them off to school the next day.

In the meantime, the investigation continued. What was up with the water pressure? Parts were taken offline, cleaned, and reset. Some tubing was found to be clogged and was cleared. After another day spent following the water guys up and down the stairs to my basement, turning on and turning off faucets all over the house, everything seemed to be working. We had water and it was flowing at a rate that was at least as good it was when they’d begun “improving” my system the day before.

Ahh.

On Friday evening, my son was having a sleepover. Just two friends, for a couple quiet hours of video games. Maybe a movie.

Okay, I’m lying about this part. There is absolutely nothing quiet about three eleven-year-old boys sharing space indoors. It really should not be allowed.

Anyhoo.

Friday evening, my son’s friend discovers a wet spot in the basement carpeting. Which is approximately the size of the entire room. The actual conversation:

Friend: “Whoa! Dude! Did your cat pee all over your rug?”

Son: “What? No! My cat couldn’t make that much pee.”

Friend: “Oh yeah? I could!”

Yes, the water softener system – fixed and re-fixed just the day before – had totally overflowed all over the basement.

My son and his friends seemed to enjoy the excitement. They got to collect every towel in the house and spread them all over the wet carpeting, then stomp on them, to sop up the mess. They also got to meet five or six “plumber guys”, as they called them, who spent most of Friday night in my basement.

Pulling up the carpet. Mopping up the water. Lugging in dehumidifiers and fans and wet vacs. 

Is it all fixed, now? No. The water is running through the faucets and not leaking into the carpet, but as far as quality goes... we are pretty much right where we were when we started this adventure a week ago. The water is clean and clear... but kind of stinky.

And we are still waiting on the carpet guys. Haven’t met them yet, but I’ve been assured that they will be showing up any day now, to put everything back where it’s supposed to be down in the basement. I should probably call and check on them...

The lesson?

Still working on that, as well. I can’t help but wonder, did I attract all this? Did my sneaky subconscious need a break from all the things I was planning to do last week, before getting totally sidetracked?  

Before I was even born, did I make some sort of pact with the water guys, to spend a couple days together, letting them exercise their professionalism and customer service, while I exercised my calm?

Perhaps the really important question is, how do I stay focused on moving towards the life I want to have, while experiencing the one I’ve already created?

Now that I have a few moments to myself, I will meditate. I will get back to thinking about conscious parenting. And I will take some time to write in my gratitude journal: I have a warm, dry house, healthy, happy children and clean, safe (slightly smelly) drinking water.

I am rich.

   

Related Posts:

Life has a way of applying the brakes, every now and then. Even conscious parenting – or updating this blog – tends to take a back seat to the crisis of the moment. While I am still trying to figure out how to steer my life in a direction of my choosing, I like to think that I am getting better at relaxing into these detours... at least, a little. Here are some posts you might enjoy:

"Accepting the Present, Changing the World;"

"Finding Christmas;" and

"Cold & Flu Season: When Going with the Flow is Your Only Option".

For a slightly different perspective: "Conscious Parenting and a Really Good Week."

 

Comments

[Meg]

Hi Ruth. True, there was no family gathering... but it still felt like a bit of a circus! Thanks for writing. - Meg

[Ruth]

OMG..... no wonder there was so much time between posts! The only thing that might have added a bit more of an entertainment factor would have been if you were hosting a family gathering at the same time!