The Cold Shower (aka bucket bath)

June 27, 2006

Now I wanted to write about this, as it is a part of my every day. It is something I love, and something I dread. I think God invented it just for me, as He knew I would need a little something extra to get going in the morning. Now when I say shower I am sure you imagine cascades of water pouring down. This is not the right picture. I will explain. Here, we have a well. All the water for the house has to be pulled up by hand, in a bucket, just like little Jack and Jill (you know the ones that went up the hill). Yeah, so we have a water tank on top of the roof, but our pump is not strong enough to pull water from the well, so it is all done by hand. Onesimus, James and Kathleen's 18 year old foster son who lives here does the water once a week. It takes him quite a while to fill the barrels, which then we (and by we, I mean, him...not me, I have watched though) pump from the barrels on the ground to the tank on the roof. I think he said it takes 2 hours. So, you can imagine that we do not like to waste the water coming out of the tap. I like to try and fill one barrel myself each day (an equivalent of 11 bucketsful). We keep one in our bathroom, and several in the kitchen for washing and filling our water filter. I know you think I am a saint for filling my one barrel a day, but really I am quite self centred if I am honest. I figure if I pull one barrel of water a day, it will keep my arms toned. Anyhow, that is beside the point.
Lets get back to my shower. The kids all shower at night time, so they are fresh and can go to sleep. I shower in the morning. This is for the obvious reason, that I am not a morning person. When I am waking up, I am not thinking, yay, a new day, I am thinking, why oh why is it morning time already. I usually wait until after breakfast to shower, to let my body fully wake up. Sometimes, I dread the shower. I think, do I really need one, it is so cold. But I know, I need to. Then I go to the tub, fill up my water pitcher from the barrel, and then proceed to splash water all over myself. It is a slow process. I don’t just dump water on my head, I need to climatize, so I start with my forearms, then my arms, then my feet and calves and slowly I splash my way up my body, until I am wet all over, then I proceed to pour water over my head with a cup. After sudsing up, I rinse with what is left in the pitcher, then I do my final rinse cycle. This is with actual running water. The pressure is low though, and so to actually get under the stream of water, I plaster myself against the end of the tub and sorta splash around. I think James and Kathleen's shower is a little more functional than ours. Oh well, the running water is a new thing.
Its amazing this thing I dread...I can be grumpy and feeling slightly ill, like I have caught some mysterious african disease, and by the end of my shower I am as happy as a clam. The world is new again, and I am glad to be in it.
PS. I challenge you. Next time you shower, grab a bucket instead, and use only cold water. Try it, you’ll be amazed at how alive you feel at the end. Let me know how it works out for you.