The old adage “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”, is very true of a functional home plumbing system. Mine completely broke down last week…and boy have I missed it. It began with the shower water not draining, and quickly moved on to the toilet being blocked. Lucky my fella was on hand, with a plunger in his, which he quickly regretted, and pleaded with me not to enter the bathroom. I could tell by the strangled tone in his voice that he was witnessing something unholy. Naturally, I had to see the unholy thing for myself. I’ll be wearing wellies in the shower from now on.
We were both changed by the experience, but teamwork, two bottles of extra-strength draino, and a bumper pack of industrial cleaning wipes later, and we at least had the bathroom smelling like we might get away with murder. Of course that wasn’t the end, more like the crescendo at the beginning.
A cracked drainpipe was the culprit. A cracked drainpipe under the concrete driveway. Its “nearly fixed” status, more than a week later, has meant more unholiness, a huge pile of dirty clothes, and my already untameable hair being boofier than ever. On the bright side, it has also meant frequent trips to the local pub (when my fella’s been around to drive me, otherwise it’s an hour away on foot along unlit country roads), as well as the chance to ruminate on the wonders of a functional home plumbing system, and what it lends to our perception of ourselves. In all, the experience has left me wondering if distancing ourselves from our waste so efficiently is a key factor in what has long been our sense of superiority over other animals?
Image: It’s only natural – acrylic on paper
bexODESSA 