Self Care- Hot Showers and Seinfeld

Ok...I have to admit that I miss my family, but I also love being here up in Seattle at the Refresh conference. The conference itself is amazing, but also just staying at a hotel takes on a whole new meaning now that we live in what may be considered by many as a third world country. For those of you that live in Haiti, you'll understand what I'm talking about!

I actually stood in the shower under HOT water for a good 15 minutes. I felt a little guilty, but I couldn't resist. I am blessed to be a part of Chosen International http://choseninternational.org, which is a teen adoption/foster care support ministry. Chosen provided the ability for me to be here at the Refresh conference (thank you, thank you, thank you Cindy, Mary, and Stephanie!!). They see the need for support for so many families suffering and feel called to help those in need.

We have this amazing shower in the hotel that not only has running water (we don't yet have running water in Haiti-ugh..ugh..ugh), but they also have HOT water AND a shower for the little people. The shower head slides all the way down for those that are height challenged (for those that do not know- I'm 4'10"). It was nice to take a hot shower, but I do feel bad for my family at home in Haiti. Specifically, I wish I could bring the shower home to my husband because I know how much a shower means to him.

When we lived in the States it would always drive me completely insane to lay in bed and hear the shower running in the morning for 15 or 20 minutes. I could just feel the water running down the drain and dollar signs were flashing in my head. I was raised by a mother that grew up on the mission field, so she certainly understood the value of conserving. My father grew up in the depression and didn't have indoor plumbing much of his upbringing. We learned from a young age that everything cost money and came at a price.

So, although I do like to take a hot shower, it's not up there on my bucket list I guess because I was conditioned from a young age to believe that you showered simply to get clean as quickly as possible.  I do though really miss taking an actual bath, but this hotel doesn't have bathtubs. Many years ago at a training I remember an exercise Deborah Gray (keynote speaker this year at Refresh) did with therapists. Thank you Deborah! You've touched so many lives over the years!

She had us draw a picture of something we longed for and I drew a picture of a bathtub because for quite a few years we had one bathroom with over a dozen children. I would dream about my OWN bathroom and now we do actually have our own bathroom, but it doesn't exactly work without running water and consistent electricity.

Watching Seinfeld in the middle of the night at a hotel where there are no children knocking at the door is more valuable to me then my own bathroom at this point in my life. For years we never had TV in the home and the only time I would be able to watch TV would be at hotel rooms. Hopefully I am not bothering my roommate Mary who is graciously sharing a room (and even a bed) with me!

Overall, there are some little things that we miss, but for the most part I don't long for the conveniences that we have in the states. Life has a simplicity in Haiti that is refreshing in many ways as well. BUT this summer our family is actually coming back to the states to visit. We will be traveling around Canada and the USA. The kids have begun to compile a bucket list and it is amazing to see the top three items on this list: use a flushing toilet, take a shower, and go to McDonald's.

My bucket list on the other hand would probably be: Eat cheese......eat more cheese.....go to the movie to get the popcorn with all the butter that always makes me feel sick, and then eat some more cheese! Yes, there is a reason we live in Haiti. Otherwise I'd like to be the mouse in the picture below completely surrounded by cheese!

The cheese and popcorn was never really a healthy choice, but I was always compelled to those things anyway!

On this trip though I was able to go to the movie with our daughter Phuong. We went and saw Frozen which was a really cute move. Yes, I did get the popcorn and yes, I did feel sick afterwards, but it was sooooo worth it!!