Hot Water

It was 5:00AM and the alarm went off.  I wanted a few more minutes but this morning I had to give my sister a ride to work, so I got out of bed and went for my shower.  And ... no hot water.  No need to go into why, but there was no hot water.  The last time I took a cold shower was in my teen years, when I was dumb and foolish.  It was in Upstate New York during a winter church trip.  We stayed at a dilapidated hotel.  In the morning we went for our showers and there was no hot water.  Most of the kids passed; but I was too vain to let my guy friends see me with bed hair.  The water was frigid and I screamed and squealed the entire seven minutes I was under the showerhead.  Afterwards I felt sick and stayed in bed trying to get warm and missed the service.

I like warm water in the morning.  Who doesn’t?!!!  And here I was, no time to waste, nowhere to run, I had to take my shower.  I took a deep breath and went in but stayed out of the harm’s way. My feet were getting wet but that was still okay.  Then I put my hand in, and then my forearm.  Then I tried to sprinkle some water on my head.  Sheesh!  I was really trying to do this slowly.  But if you have ever taken a cold shower, you know there’s no way to phase it in.  You just have to do it.

I take for granted so many things.  I don’t remember reflecting about hot water until this morning.  When I stop to think about it, I live a privileged life; a life of utter luxury.