The Art of Water

You never know where you'll be when you get that phone call.  The one phone call that changes everything.  The report from the doctor, the news about your friend, the passing of a loved one.  I will never forget that phone call and where I was.  I was at my kids' Art and Music Festival and had just listened to a tear-jerking rendition of All I Ask Of You from Phantom of the Opera.  It was sung by two fifth graders, and let's just say I can't wait to see what they do in high school!  We walked down the corridor and were enjoying this art display called "Tapped."  I remember thinking that I would show the pictures to my brother, who loved water in all it's forms, salty, snowy, frozen, especially when frozen ice chips were all he could stomach and all he was allowed.  The salty and snowy had more to do with his passion for adventure, snowboarding and surfing.  Regardless, I knew he would appreciate this display.  I never got to share with him.  I got the phone call.  So I want to share the pictures I had been taking here for two reasons: one, because it is so powerful, and two, because whatever we do with art and creating in our own homes, it probably won't have the impact it does here.  Amazing.

Those are all bottle lids strung together. 

Plastic bags gag.

But I am trying to make a small impact at home.  So here is something I found that I wanted to share.  After a little research on the internet I found these wonderful Tap Fountains, from a company called Dream Farm.  They are these cool little stick-on fountains that turn your tap faucet into a cupless, bottle-less water fountain.  The price is under $5 too!  They came all the way from Australia... now that's kind of cool, but also not very earth-responsible. 

They are my answer to the countless numbers of water bottles that are clogging our earth.  My kids love them.   They fit right on the faucet, (size and shape do matter, but as you can see they fit this style), and they feel so much better and will do for a couple sips or a long drink.  We don't need to buy into the myth that we have to drink all these gallons of water each day.  If we drink when we are thirsty that is enough.  There was a report I heard about this on an NPR report on Sports Nutrition, by Gretchen Reynolds.   (As a side note, kids should not be prevented from getting a drink of water in school. It helps our brain function.  I don't think anyone can argue with that.)

Water does sustain us.  It keeps us going.   And the rituals we have associated with it.  I love watering the flowers.  I even like doing the dishes sometimes.   Making tea.  Making coffee.  Ice cubes.  Baptism.  The ocean.  A cool pool.  A hot shower.  Running through every sprinkler on a run.  Cleaning. Cleansing.  Inside and out.  Every drop of water is precious, nourishing to mind, body, and spirit.