The texts started as we left school: Courtbridge Geyser! Water main break! The pictures were even more dramatic-- a spume of water gushed 20 feet in the air from the center of the parking lot just outside our windows. When we pulled in, half the loop road that leads around our complex was closed, but the text chain had already informed us that the fountain was shut off and so was the water.
The expected repair time was many hours, and we were informed that the water would probably be off until morning. How strange it was to be without a ready supply of something we take for granted. Fortunately for us, we had a few things in our favor-- three toilets and a big jug of filtered water in the fridge, but it was still an unsatisfactory evening. And when we went to bed, the work crew was still at it with halogen lights and jack hammers right outside our window, where they remained all night long.
Rising to the alarm at 5 am, I peered out the window to another geyser spraying over and above our upper balcony. At first I despaired, assuming that this was a sign that the repair did not hold, but then I realized that if the water was on, our water was on, too. So I sprinted through the house flushing toilets and grabbing pitchers to fill. Sadly, before I could collect more than a quart or two, the stream from the faucet slowed to a trickle, and both our water and the fountain outside were gone again.
BUT, at a little before 7, on a whim I flipped on the kitchen faucet, and water flowed freely again. I've always known intellectually how fortunate we are to have all the clean water we want, but looking back on the ordeal and how it felt to be forced to eat leftovers instead of cooking, use hand sanitizer instead of washing, and brush my teeth with a half cup of water, I realized that my gratitude for this resource is not nearly enough.
Life Lesson: You never know how lucky you are to have something until you lose it.
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