Yep...Spoiled Rotten!

Waski_the_Squirrel

Waski_the_Squirrel

Resident of the least visited state in the nation.
I think I'm spoiled (something I actually have in common with most Americans).

Yesterday, I thought the shower was a little cool, but I was in a hurry. I got home, checked the hot water tank, and the pilot was out. I relit it...nothing. I'm waiting for the plumber to find time to get here. It's probably either dirt or a bad thermocouple. Either way, I can't figure out how to get in there without draining the tank and taking it out. (Someone wasn't thinking when they put it in.) The plumber isn't sure yet if he'll make it this week or next.

So, my first thought was how inconvenient cold showers and shaves are. This morning's shower was distinctly chilly and spent largely with the water turned off.

Then I got home today with dishes to wash, cleaning to do, and cooking to do. The dishwasher apparently doesn't work well without hot water. I finally took a lesson from my church (which has no running water), and heated a kettle of water on the stove for my dishes.

So, washing dishes "church style" got me to thinking: hot water is a pretty recent thing. There were people around here without plumbing as recently as the eighties. They wouldn't have grown up with a shower cold or hot. Dishes would never be done with a dishwasher. They would have had to pump water to heat it on their stove for bathing or dishes. Also, I'm currently doing laundry in my washing machine. I could easily be doing my laundry by hand just a few years ago. I might have had a wringer to help, but I still would have then had to hang the clothes.

And, you know, most of the world would look at me with envy. Why should I whine about a few days without hot water? Answer: I'm spoiled!

We really do take a lot of luxuries for granted. Just a few:

[list type=decimal]
[*]Running water that is clean and indoors (let alone hot water)
[*]Electricity: for all my whining, I'm sitting under a light and typing on a computer
[*]Clean Homes: Some might scoff at my tiny house, but I have a real floor, not dirt
[*]Easy transport: some days I whine about being so far from anywhere else, but it's paved roads (in a nice car) to most anywhere
[*]Easy access to information: I grew up prior to internet. Now I could never go back.
[*]Heat: I grew up in a home where we cut our own fuel, but this was a lifestyle choice
[*]Insulation: My house is fairly isolated from the weather. In many places this is not the case
[*]Employment: No matter how much I might whine about my job or wish I made more money, there are jobs here. That isn't true elsewhere
[*]Food: it's easily available and ridiculously cheap. Too much is more of a worry than too little
[/list]

What other luxuries do we take for granted as normal?
 
I'm not sure about you Waski, but I'm within 10 minutes of almost anything I might want to buy. Now, I might have to drive an additional 20 to 30 to get nicer stuff, but if I needed a new dress, shoes, groceries, electronics, sports equipment, toiletries, etc. I could get any of that in about 10 minutes.
 
Sometimes we forget to stop and smell the roses. Thanks for the reminder of how much we really do have and what we sometimes take for granted.

Still two weeks without hot water might make me a little crazy!! BTW, the dishwasher might have a cycle that actually heats the water, my dinosaur does. :)
 
I love my DVR. Shallow, I admit. I also agree with all y'all!! Oh and soaker hoses are the bomb diggity!!!
 
We lived in an old farmhouse with no indoor plumbing for two years when I was a kiddo,
looking back those were some of the best times and most fun memories of my childhood.

(we did have a really nice solar shower out in the garden...)
 
I take entirely too much for granted and I'm VERY spoiled. I grew up in a very poor family and have 6 brothers and sisters. We lived in a two bedroom house with one bathroom and for about 2 years, didn't have hot water because the hot water heater didn't work and we couldn't afford a new one (someone eventually gave us a used one when they replaced the one in their house). My "new" clothes consisted of handmedowns except that I would get ONE new pair of jeans every September for school. I once remember needing a new pair of shoes because mine had holes worn in them. My father took me to Family Dollar and told me that I could pick a pair of shoes out of the dollar bin. They didn't have any my size (or bigger) so I had to get a pair of shoes that were a full size too small - they hurt, but I wore them like they were a new pair of Nike's.
 
Perhaps because my parents had humble beginnings, I often think of stuff like this. We didn't have a lot growing up, but we had more than enough. (And we had parents who loved us unconditionally and cared enough to discipline us, and that means the WORLD.) I think about the pioneers who settled North Dakota and the west...good heavens, what they must have gone through!!! When you've actually been there, it really brings it home.

I think the greatest thing of modern times is medicine. My grandfather's little brother died of appendicitis because they lived probably 90 minutes from the nearest hospital, and didn't have the means to get there, even if it would have helped. My mother contracted typhoid fever while on her job (she's a retired lab tech)...they had a little girl who came from India with it, and even with hoods and protection, it was so powerful Mother got it. She was in the hospital for three weeks on VERY VERY powerful antibiotics (that they were afraid would damage some of her organs, but it didn't, thank the Lord). In not too many years past, she would have died.

5yo nephew was in the NICU for three weeks after he was born because his lungs weren't fully developed yet. His uncle died of that very thing in 1971. A friend's baby had a rare intestinal problem; he was in the NICU for breathing issues, and was about to be released to go home when one of the RNs noticed something amiss. They transported him IMMEDIATELY to Egleston, and the surgeon did surgery on him the minute they arrived. He's five months old now and has had no problems since. SD's 10yo nephew had his second open-heart surgery the other day and is recovering. NJ, NG, and Charlie all had kidneys removed in the last few weeks, and are doing fine. My mother had breast cancer in 1997; a lumpectomy and radiation followed. She's been cancer free for 15 years.

I could go on and on, as I'm sure you could. We live in blessed times, indeed.
 
mei lan said:
Perhaps because my parents had humble beginnings, I often think of stuff like this. We didn't have a lot growing up, but we had more than enough. (And we had parents who loved us unconditionally and cared enough to discipline us, and that means the WORLD.) I think about the pioneers who settled North Dakota and the west...good heavens, what they must have gone through!!! When you've actually been there, it really brings it home.

I think the greatest thing of modern times is medicine. My grandfather's little brother died of appendicitis because they lived probably 90 minutes from the nearest hospital, and didn't have the means to get there, even if it would have helped. My mother contracted typhoid fever while on her job (she's a retired lab tech)...they had a little girl who came from India with it, and even with hoods and protection, it was so powerful Mother got it. She was in the hospital for three weeks on VERY VERY powerful antibiotics (that they were afraid would damage some of her organs, but it didn't, thank the Lord). In not too many years past, she would have died.

5yo nephew was in the NICU for three weeks after he was born because his lungs weren't fully developed yet. His uncle died of that very thing in 1971. A friend's baby had a rare intestinal problem; he was in the NICU for breathing issues, and was about to be released to go home when one of the RNs noticed something amiss. They transported him IMMEDIATELY to Egleston, and the surgeon did surgery on him the minute they arrived. He's five months old now and has had no problems since. SD's 10yo nephew had his second open-heart surgery the other day and is recovering. NJ, NG, and Charlie all had kidneys removed in the last few weeks, and are doing fine. My mother had breast cancer in 1997; a lumpectomy and radiation followed. She's been cancer free for 15 years.

I could go on and on, as I'm sure you could. We live in blessed times, indeed.
Click to expand...

Have I told you lately I love you :love
 
I will never forget a song performed by George Younce with the Catedral Quartet. We are indeed blessed beyond measure. If I can find it on YouTube, I'll post it later...

Today, upon a bus,
I saw a girl with golden hair.
I envied her, she seemed so gay,
And I wished I was as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and used a crutch.
But as she passed, she gave a smile.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have two legs and the world is mine.

I stopped to buy some candy.
The lad who sold it had such charm.
I talked with him, he seemed so glad.
If I were late, It'd do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me,
"I thank you, you've been so kind.
It's nice to talk with folks like you.
"You see," he said, "I'm blind."
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have two eyes and the world is mine.

Later while walking down the street,
I saw a child with eyes of blue.
He stood and watched the others play.
He seemed not to know what to do.
I stopped a moment and then I said,
"Why don't you join the others dear?"
He looked ahead without a word.
And then I knew he couldn't hear.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have two ears and the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I'd go.
With eyes to see the sunset's glow.
With ears to hear what I'd know.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I've been blessed indeed, the world is mine.
 
naturegirl said:
mei lan said:
Perhaps because my parents had humble beginnings, I often think of stuff like this. We didn't have a lot growing up, but we had more than enough. (And we had parents who loved us unconditionally and cared enough to discipline us, and that means the WORLD.) I think about the pioneers who settled North Dakota and the west...good heavens, what they must have gone through!!! When you've actually been there, it really brings it home.

I think the greatest thing of modern times is medicine. My grandfather's little brother died of appendicitis because they lived probably 90 minutes from the nearest hospital, and didn't have the means to get there, even if it would have helped. My mother contracted typhoid fever while on her job (she's a retired lab tech)...they had a little girl who came from India with it, and even with hoods and protection, it was so powerful Mother got it. She was in the hospital for three weeks on VERY VERY powerful antibiotics (that they were afraid would damage some of her organs, but it didn't, thank the Lord). In not too many years past, she would have died.

5yo nephew was in the NICU for three weeks after he was born because his lungs weren't fully developed yet. His uncle died of that very thing in 1971. A friend's baby had a rare intestinal problem; he was in the NICU for breathing issues, and was about to be released to go home when one of the RNs noticed something amiss. They transported him IMMEDIATELY to Egleston, and the surgeon did surgery on him the minute they arrived. He's five months old now and has had no problems since. SD's 10yo nephew had his second open-heart surgery the other day and is recovering. NJ, NG, and Charlie all had kidneys removed in the last few weeks, and are doing fine. My mother had breast cancer in 1997; a lumpectomy and radiation followed. She's been cancer free for 15 years.

I could go on and on, as I'm sure you could. We live in blessed times, indeed.
Click to expand...

Have I told you lately I love you :love
Click to expand...

Awwwww... :scuffingtoeindirt:
 
The hot water was back when I got home from work Friday!

Interesting stories that some of you shared. My family was never poor, but we did without a lot of things out of choice. This was how my father put my brother and I through college without debt. My father didn't make a lot of money, but, because we did without a lot of things, not only did he pay for college, but he also managed a very comfortable retirement.

Because of that choice, I graduated college debt free and had the freedom to go off to North Dakota rather than look at my personal bottom line and student loan debt.
 
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