A Frosted-Over Thank You
Last night, temperatures dipped below freezing, and this morning when we saw a waterfall over the front of our house, we knew that like thousands of other families, the frosty night has burst our dud shemesh, or solar water heater
To shut off the waterfall, we had to shut off water for our whole house until the dud shemesh technician arrived.
That meant when I saw 3-year-old Yaakov had left me a present in the toilet, I couldn’t flush the toilet.
I wanted to drink some water, but there was no water to drink.
I wanted to wash my hands after changing Yonatan’s diaper, but there was no water to wash my hands.
I wanted to turn on the stuffed-full dishwasher, but there was no water to wash the dishes.
I wanted to make our traditional Weisberg Thursday spaghetti, but there was no water to put in the pot to boil.
And then a miracle took place at 10:45 this morning. Out of the thousands of urgent phone calls he had received, our solar water heater guy decided to actually come fix ours. “You know why, Geveret? Because I looove your husband!”
And within half an hour, I could flush Yaakov’s present, drink water, wash my hands, run the dishwasher (humming right now as I type these words), and boil the spaghetti (already draining in the sink).
And for the first time in I dunno how long, I felt SO GRATEFUL for water!
And I remembered something Rabbanit Yemima once taught us: the expression “Chash b’rosho” means “His head hurts.” But it also means “He feels his head.” Because when something hurts… When something disappears, we finally feel that it exists.
Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone…
Which makes me look around me and remember all the things I should feel grateful for TODAY.
So happy for your happy ending! I recall reading decades ago a little piece in the Reader’s Digest about a questionnaire that a child had to complete for a school assignment, in which she had to ask all family members what each thought the most important, valuable development of the 20th Century was. The answers ranged from electricity to refrigeration to the telephone. But the oldest (ergo wisest perhaps) family member, Grandma, answered, INDOOR RUNNING WATER. Yup, Grandma!
Its so hot now in Argentina, we ran out of water too. And I had your very same feeling when it was fixed. I understood running water (or turning on a light) is a MIRACLE
So nice that someone else appreciates your husband – how we treat others especially those whom some would consider beneath them is a true indication of our own mentchlechkeit.
I would put indoor plumbing especially flush toilets on the top of the list. By the way if your toilet has a tank you can flush it once, the tank just won’t refill.