For the love of water

Ah the smells of camping: bug spray, sunscreen, camp fires, outhouses, musty old tents you should have aired out before packing but didn't take the time...these smells bring back memories of my youth. And now I get to share these things with my boys. Of course, as an adult I now realize how much work is involved as well.

So we camped out last weekend but it wasn't really your typical camping experience. We were visiting a friend who is in the process of building a house and we stayed out there on his property, in a little travel camper. He has an outhouse and a spigot for water. He even has a refridgerator and a television. But the place is a total bachelor pad. This is the friend from whom I first heard the sayings "Comfort kills the soul," and "pain is weakness leaving the body." So, you can imagine...

The place is way out of town on a (very dusty) gravel road with few trees around, and summer decided to finally strike this weekend. It was blastingly hot, with very little shade. However, it was near a river (hence the massive mosquito onslaught) so we were able to go swim a couple of times. While there, I cleaned out our friend's camper and refridgerator. I felt like it was the least I could do. My husband says I do things like this because I like gross things. (In response I always say, yes, I do like YOU.) On the contrary, I like CLEAN things, THAT is why I clean up gross things.

I am no clean/neat freak, no, not at all. I just love running water and a relatively comfortable place to be. I mean, I have two boys (three if you count my husband), I am used to a bit of mess and chaos. I'm also used to cleaning it up. So, at times like these (camping out in a hot dusty place) it is the running water, the indoor plumbing, that I miss the most.

I didn't even realize (or maybe I chose to ignore) just how dusty and dry we all were until we got home. The first thing I did when we got home was a neti pot. Then a shower, and tons of moisturizer. Made the boys bathe too, fed them and put them to bed. Washed dishes, started on the laundry, watered the yard and garden. I looked around at our lush green yard and all the tall, lovely, shade-creating trees, and I was thankful for what I have. A bit of deprivation once in a while really helps me to appreciate the comfortable life I have created for myself.

So here is what I've been thinking: a comfortable life is all about water. Not only do we need to drink tons of water to be really healthy, but we also need it to grow food or livestock, we need it to stay clean and comfortable...water is life. Water is wealth. The majority of the surface of our planet is covered with water. Water is fun to play in. All weekend I found myself thinking about Aquatic Ape Hypothesis, a theory of human evolution that says we evolved into what we are today not from running across the hot dry savanna after wicked fast prey (competing with huge cats as predators), but through our proximity to water. Living near and often in water, eating fish, helped our brains grow. Looking out at the hot dusty dry land did not make me feel like running. In fact, I had planned to go for a long run in training for a fall marathon, but it was way too hot. If I had ever gotten hungry enough out there to go running after an antelope, I would have passed out from heat exhaustion long before I got close to one.

So imagine two proto-humans, one who runs off into the sun after meat, another who follows the water, eating occasional fish and plant life growing along the shore. Who would survive? Who would be richer and more comfortable? Who is the smarter one? I know what direction I would go in.