Ode to the Water Heater

Generally speaking, I am not a high maintenance girl. Yes, I'm a somewhat picky eater- and I prefer specific types of macaroni and cheese - but I'd say that for most things, I'm easy to please. I was a co-founding member of the Low Maintenance Women Club with my college girlfriends. I don't require fancy jewelry- in fact, I was really excited about the coveralls Nick bought me for Christmas. He found me women's petite coveralls! The perfect length and everything!

But, my one guilty pleasure is I LOVE a hot bubble bath- and I love a hot shower. I think I inherited this trait from my mom. And the hot water heater in our duplex leaves a lot to be desired. First, it stands about 4 feet tall....so there's no way it holds very much water. And I have exactly 8 minutes of hot water. So I have a choice- I can either wash my hair or shave my legs because I can't accomplish both in 8 minutes - not without blood anyway. And Lord help me when I try to run a bubble bath. There is a specific bath sequence. First, I have to get Nick to tighten the stopper down for me. I don't know what he does, but he can get it so that the water won't leak out. There is nothing worse than feeling the water level go down and hearing the annoying gurgle that accompanies the decreasing water level as I try to enjoy my bath. Then, I run the hot water until it goes cold - this ends up being a couple inches in the bottom of the tub (Round 1). I then have to wait 15 minutes or so, and run the hot water until it goes cold again (Round 2). By this time, there is an ample amount of hot water (and bubbles) for me to relax and read by book in the bath. If I'm lucky, I'll have some hot water to warm it up after awhile when it starts to go cold.

One cold, winter evening... after a particularly long day at work... I decided a bubble bath would be the perfect way to relax. Nick was watching tv- don't remember what- but I didn't want to bother him with stopping up the tub for me. I was confident I had it plugged up pretty good because after Round 1 of filling the tub, I didn't hear any water seepage. Feeling proud of myself, I went and read until it was time for Round 2. But when I went back into the bathroom (really looking forward to a wonderful, warm, relaxing bath), all that was left in the tub was bubbles. All my water had escaped and it was too late in the evening to restart my bubble bath sequence. I think I almost cried.

Mom thought it was funny when she came to visit and was given specific instructions on how to adjust the water for maximum hot shower time (1 quarter turn of hot- and cold until comfortable- more than 1 quarter turn of hot will shorten hot shower time). When she took her shower, then she understood why instructions were necessary.

The point of this little story .... there isn't one really. It's one of those things that once we have a house with a super, duper, delux 1 thousand gallon water heater (is there such a thing? If so, I'm getting one!) will be one of those charming stories we share- remember when we first got married and we had 8 minutes of hot water? But for now, I cherish trips that require a hotel stay where there is unlimited hot water access.

Ahhh...the joys of renting.