Shower thinking...

The shower made me think this morning...

Hey that's nothing new. It's a great place to think. (I for one believe that every great human idea that has occurred in the last 50 years likely owes something to the shower.) But to the case in point.
Our shower at the moment has issues. Perhaps she had a bad childhood experience or some other trauma, but over the past month or so the darn thing has just got plain “nasty.”
She used to furnish us all with a wonderful stream of warm water, generously washing away all our filth and morning shivers. Now she only feeds us a pathetic dribble. It comes out so slowly that it clumps together in an unusable hydro-blob. Not only that, she simply will not make up her mind! It’s like an aquatic roller-coaster ride from searing hot to frightful cold. I guess the silver lining here is that the very best treatment for “all over burns” is the immediate application of freezing cold water.

I don’t get it. In nine years she’s never been like this. Perhaps her motivation is revenge. A shower scorned. Sure, I left her to drip for six months when all she needed was a new washer. Yes, I have handled her “a little roughly” when her door was sticky. (Truth be known the door is currently broken off altogether, which I guess in shower terms is the equivalent of standing at a bus stop in your underwear.) But I think overall, I have been appreciative of all she has done for me and feel I don’t really deserve to be in this hot water.

I guess there’s always an upside. Even to a dribbly, vengeful shower.

As I received my daily scalding this morning, I realised that I was far less agitated and uncomfortable than I was a month ago. The skin that I have leftover is now quite used to the extremes. It’s like I have now acquired the skill of putting up with a really useless shower. A skill that I am sure I will be able to put to good use on camping trips and visits to Flag Inns.

I also have a heightened appreciation for what the old girl used to be like. (We have a locum booked in to come and take a look at her, and anticipate she’ll be back to her old self in no time.) When she once again provides us with that warm and generous stream, I know that I’ll be far more appreciative of what I have, because of the experience.

I have been reminded of a few things. That a warm shower is a privilege not a right. And that there are countless people on this planet who can only dream of standing under a continuous stream of fresh water. Moreover, that I can stand in a shower of water for 10 minutes and survive comfortably without letting a single drop of it pass through my lips.