No Water? No Problem...well not exactly

As I write, United Water is working to repair a water main break that turned my block into a flood zone this afternoon.

Izzy and I were roused from our "stay at home sick day" laziness when we heard all sorts of commotion in front of our house. We peered out the window to see a muddy river flowing by. At first I was quite frightened. I told Izzy to watch from the window and I ventured out to see what was going on. From the looks of it, water was flowing from street, to sidewalk, down into some of the homes on my block, but not yet ours. I watched in horror as the muddy water crept up closer to my front patio and saw the looks of panic on neighbors' faces as we all wondered what was going to happen. The fire department arrived but were unable to staunch the flow. They were powerless without the help of the water company.

Meanwhile I called family members, asking for advice as to how to keep the water from entering our home. Instead of the calming response I had hoped for I heard "The water will just flow, nothing you can do except move things away." Great, my house was going to be inundated by a thick muddy river.

I stood outside gaping, while friends and neighbors wandered down the block, all of us shaking our heads in disbelief. Finally the water company arrived about a half hour later and turned it off. So much for fine disaster management. We can count ourselves amongst the lucky ones. Our sidewalk tilts toward the street and this kept our house safe. Other families were not so fortunate and their basements and ground floors were flooded.

The entire block is now without water for an indeterminate length of time. Of course this lack of water put a slight damper on our dinner plans. It also assuaged any guilt I may have had about ordering Chinese food. So comforting to know that a warm meal is available if my kitchen isn't functioning. The only thing I forgot to consider was how stinky the dishes would be afterwards with my inability to wash them.

As you might imagine, this water issue has pervaded our thoughts for the day. Aside from no dish washing and other food-related tasks, there was also no water for bathing. This impacted Izzy's bedtime, especially since he had to forgo his steam shower which has been part of his morning and bedtime while he is sick. What we did manage to do was brush teeth and wash up a bit..with the help of our trusty glass bottles, filled with Poland Spring Water.

Yes, one thing we had on hand was plenty of drinking water. I have it delivered in five gallon jugs so we are never without. It turned out to be just what we needed to keep our sanity through this minor disaster.

How lucky we are that for us, this will most likely be just a small inconvenience. As my brother so thoughtfully pointed out, so many people have gone and do go for much longer without running water so I should just get over it. In the next breath he then advised that I save some spring water for "the most expensive flush," something to keep in mind the next time you are without water.