Bath Time Bliss

Fifteen years I was in Mexico.  They were fifteen years of joy, happiness, fun, trials, trubulations and many other things I can think of.  The years were not bliss at bathtime.

When we first moved to Mexico, we lived in a 15-foot travel trailer on the beach.  There was no toilet, only a bag-a-potty.  We also had no water save that which we carried in from about 20 miles away.  We were conservationists to be sure.  If the weather was nice, we took Joy soap and bathed in the ocean in our suits and came back to rinse under fresh water that had been left in the sun to warm.  If we wanted a "real" shower, we could trek the 20 miles and pay about a dollar for lukewarm water for about 4 minutes.  We had to be quick.

After a few months, we moved into a larger travel trailer - 30 feet long.  It was like a palace for us!  We had also dug a large water tank on the property and placed a sump pump in it to bring water into the trailer.  It wasn't drinking water, but with the little pump in the tank and the one in the trailer, we could finally take a shower.  We still had to conserve, however, because it cost $20 a tank for the water.  Also, we only had a 4 gallon hot water heater.  I thought the shower in the trailer was heaven.  I thought the potty in the trailer was heaven as well until we had to dump the holding tank into the ground.

We moved the trailer across the street so we could build a house.  The trailer seemed to have shrunk, so we built a room next to it and another bathroom.  That bathroom had a "real" shower in it.  Same rules applied even though we got a larger water heater.  Then we started to take in kids.  We used a lot of water even if we had constraints on it.  My best time to bathe was when we came up to the states for a visit.  Then I felt guilty even taking a 5 minute shower.

When we moved into the big house, there was a huge bathtub, but I couldn't afford to fill it.  Too many kids, too many clothes to wash and not enough time.  From the beginning, a daily bath or shower was a luxury we couldn't have.  We would bathe 3 times a week or so. 

Then, 4 years ago, we lost our home on the beach and the kids and I moved to our pastor's ranch.  HE had a well!  Oh, glory be!  I took at least one long shower in my weekly allotment.  We had too many kids there for too many long showers, but I allowed myself one. We lived there for 15 months or so, during which time I married Rob.  Lord love him, he liked a daily shower!  Was he in for a surprise. 

We had to leave the pastor's ranch and found a home to rent.  It was way up on a hill and had "city water" available.  I thought it would do us well.  Ugh!  The water only came up the hill 2 or 3 times a week.  The water heater wouldn't stay lit because there was hardly ever any water in it.  We filled a large above ground tank and a huge barrel with cold water when the water came - usually at 2 or 3 in the morning.  If we wanted hot showers, we would heat water on the stove and carry a 5 gallon bucket of water to the bathroom.  We would "dip" a bath and pour water over ourselves.  It was effective, but I hated it.  There was so little water that we bathed babies first, dirtiest kids next and so on.  Adults often had to wait several stinky days for water. 

At the ranch, we had plenty of water available, but the same restrictions applied because of so many people.  The showers were good and good people helped us get the best water pressure we'd had since arriving in Mexico.  Shower water drained out to water plants, so we felt good about the system.  I ached for a bathtub.

We've been here 3 months or so now, and at first, all Hank had here was a tub (heaven!), but he managed to intall a shower head for himself and Rob and whoever else wants it.  There's all the water I want, plenty of hot water and bubble bath just for me.  I go to soak my achy bones and muscles in a little bit of heaven.

If you've never been without water, you probably won't understand this babbling.  Suffice it to say, I will never take a bath for granted again.