Ok, so that might be stretching things a little bit, since I'm typing this on my smartphone, using the household Wifi, as I watch Season 2 of Law & Order on Netflix, but I think I have a little bit of an insight into what life have been like 120 years ago.
Our hot water heater died on October 19, and we are still looking at being out of hot water until at least November 8.
It's said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that is especially true of hot water. I can live without the internet (I have plenty of books to read... and write). I can even live without electricity. But mess with my indoor plumbing and you will have a fight on your hands.
Last month, a shower would take 10 to 15 minutes. Today, it takes nearly 90 minutes for just one of the three of us to get clean, and we have to take baths. And, while the tap water heats up rather quickly when you add a gallon of boiling water, it takes a long time to boil 15 gallons of water on the stove in order for each of us to have a lukewarm bath.
The stories of "pioneer days" tell us that people only washed themselves once a week--for church on Sunday. While we are not there quite yet, cold showers--which were actually quite pleasant eight weeks ago in August--are now not so pleasant. They're also getting quite old (and cold).
One may be asking at this point, why we haven't gotten a new water heater. Well, we have decided to live without the use of credit. We are currently working on paying off all our debt. We had an emergency vet bill earlier this month, which emptied out our emergency fund.
So, we get to have cold showers until Nathan gets paid next month. But hey, it's the sacrifice we make, and sacrifices are supposed to build character, right?
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