“I’m Thankful For Having Running Water”
I was sitting in the audience with about 100 other folks. The elementary school kids were dressed in homemade costumes. It was the Thanksgiving program. The children were dressed as pilgrims, Native Americans, deer, turkeys, and so forth. They were cute as they pranced around all over the floor at the front of the gymnasium. Those dressed as pilgrims had speaking parts. Of course, some of them mumbled their parts while others panicked when they forgot their well-rehearsed lines. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the turkeys as they strutted about, scratching in the “imported from someone’s yard” leaves, with high-pitched sounds of cackling and gobbling, and even acting as though they were swallowing a piece or two of grain they had retrieved. The program ended with enthusiastic applause from an appreciative audience. Afterwards the children were surrounded by proud parents, grandparents, other related family members, and folks from the community (like me). It was a delightful way to spend a portion of an evening.
The part that I enjoyed the most was viewing the gallery of posted drawings, colorings, and writings from the children that adorned a hallway leading from the gymnasium towards the classrooms. Since it was the season of Thanksgiving most of the artwork had scenes involving cornstalks, pumpkins, fruits, feasts, and so forth. For the most part, the writings spoke of things the children were most thankful for like parents, siblings, other significant people, pets, homes, toys, and the like. It was fun seeing all of those things. No doubt, I was seeing the works of a future Rembrandt or Longfellow. However, the piece that caught my attention and captured my heart was a simple statement, written by a youngster known simply as “Johnny”. The name was hard to read as it was written in very small letters, scribbled in the lower right corner of the paper. Johnny had written, “I am thankful for having running water in my house”.
I wish that I could tell you some fantastic story about “Johnny”, but I cannot. If only I could relate to you some great ending to some very meaningful exchange between Johnny and I, but to do so would be deceitful on my part. In all honesty, the only things that I know about Johnny is that his name is “Johnny”, that he wrote his name in very small letters, and that he was “thankful for having running water in my (his) house”.
During any season/reason of giving thanks I want to be mindful and grateful that I live in a house that has running water. I do not have to hunt shoes, a warm coat, and flashlight if I need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. My bathing does not involve having to heat buckets of water (that I carried in from the spring across the way) on the top of the stove in preparation for having to pour the water into the tin tub that is sitting in the middle of the floor in a cold room. Rinsing out the toothpaste is easy for me while I stand at the sink in the bathroom. It is easy to wash the plates after dinner when I just stick them in the automatic dishwasher. Doing the laundry only takes a short while. Shucks! I’ve got it made! I too “am thankful for having running water in my house”.
Maybe we can all squeeze in some time, and room, to find a way to be thankful for some of those things that serve to make our lives easier. I take so much for granted.