clean water

Don't you like how he stashed the dish brush in my vase on the windowsill?

On Saturday a woman came past our house, asking for samples of water.
Complimentary testing, she said, results will be free.
Okay, sure, you can have a plastic test tube full of water from my bathroom sink.

Yesterday afternoon I got a call-the results were in.  A representative was near my home.  Could he come over and show us what he found?  (and p.s. we'll give you a gift card to HEB) they said.
Well, I'm always up for free groceries.

What they didn't say was that the very charming man would show up with a suitcase full of demonstrations and the intent to stay in our home for three full hours.
What they didn't say was that he would stay for 45 minutes after we told him we didn't want to spend $6998 on a water purification system.
Perhaps it was my fault.  I should have known better-I should have realized it was going to take that long.

It was somewhere between me giving Nicholas his fifth (fifth!) handful of marshmallows (our rice dinner was on the stove when he arrived...three hours later it was more than cold)
and Nicholas opening the freezer and pulling out the skinny cows because he figured if mom doesn't make dinner, maybe that means she'll let me have ice cream instead?
I decided I had had enough.   

This man, he was so charming, he made us feel like we didn't want to be rude.  But no means no (didn't we learn that as toddlers?)  and we had said no.  

He kept trying to convince us that we would actually be saving money by going into debt for this.

So I told him,
mister (okay, well I didn't say mister) 
We grew up being taught that if you don't have the money for it, you don't buy it.  (SNL anyone?)  And that is why we will not buy this system.  
Thank you, 
now go away (okay, I didn't say that last part either).

He left.

Our water might not be crystal clear under a microscope,
and I'll still be scrubbing hard water stains off of the sink,
but we went to bed last night feeling so grateful that we have living prophets to guide us, to teach us to stay out of debt,
and so so grateful for wise parents who taught us well.

And today I'm going grocery shopping.  So all was not a waste.