15 Hours ~ No WATER

We take so much for granted in America and that became so apparent this past Wednesday night. Cassie was taking a shower (last person for the evening) and the water stopped. Nothing. She started yelling. Brad checked the water in the kitchen and we had nothing. He went downstairs and checked things out. Yep. He confirmed. No water! (I think Cassie already told us that!)



He called a plumber the next morning and told us they would be here around noon. Umm. No water. 4 kids, 5 dogs, 2 cats, 3 horses, 3 alpacas, 2 rabbits, and NO WATER! And, it was THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE SUMMER!! The heat index was up to 103 degrees! Now that’s HOT for Wisconsin!


First things first. The animals outside were fed. The horses must have known about the water problem and became nervous. They drank their entire water tank. The kids needed to go to the bathroom. Off to Grandma’s house. We used her bathroom and started filling up 5-gallon pails of water. We loaded in my truck, drove down the road, carried them across the ditch and lawn to the horses. First trip wasn’t enough. Do it again. Did I happen to mention how HOT it was?!?! The kids were dripping wet with sweat. They were crabby and bickering back and forth. REALLY?!? Now that’s so surprising…NOT!


There were quite a few 4-wheeler trips to Grandma’s house for potty breaks, water bottles, and even 2 showers. I had to go to Poy Sippi to buy some milk and 2 big jugs of water. (Can’t believe we were even out of milk!)


Throughout this whole evening and morning of no water, all I could think of was Ethiopia and Muluken. I thought about his stories about taking his cow down a big mountain to the nearest water. How they never had clean water. How the little bit of dirty water they had, they would wash themselves outside of their home. How they ALWAYS had to walk to get some water, no matter what the weather. There was no running water in any home, so they all went potty outside in the trees and bushes.


No water in Ethiopia was an everyday occurrence. Not just 15 hours.