A Tapped Resource

If it was beer, we wouldn’t be so reckless. Granted, we’ve become a lot smarter and wiser in years of late, but why do we still treat our water like, well, waste?

Ok. It’s been around for a long time and, like your Ken Done place-mats, it’s become part of the common household.

We’re about to kick into summer gear for another year and with the new season comes for the reminder that we need to care for and preserve our water.

We are so lucky to have access to clean drinking water, straight from the tap, but believe it or not, not everyone is aware of this in Melbourne.

Even though Melbourne has some of the highest quality drinking water in the world, bottled water is still being purchased with 50 per cent of these bottles ending up in landfill or as litter.

In the West, we seem to be pretty good at keeping an eye on our local environment but how do we keep it looking good for future generations?

Local group run by state and local government, Greening the West encourages positive environmental care in all forms – from pot plants to car parks, nature strips to nature reserves, rooftops and of course our all-important waterways.

There are several projects underway in the West that focus on keeping our grounds green and our undergrounds clean. These water preservation projects that span across the West are not just for their good looks, but for our future as we start to see reduced rainfall in our hottest seasons.

While it’s good to see the big organisations thinking wisely about their communities, I’m curious as to how I can make an impact and take care of my previous tap liquid and importantly how I can show my son to be water smart.

Clare Lombardi from City West Water said preserving and caring for your water is as simple as just not wasting it.

“I think it’s about striking the right balance between using water as you need it and ensuring we have enough water available into the future. Singing in the shower is a great way to keep your shower time down. Just skip the encore! Keep your garden green, just use a trigger nozzle and water in the early morning or evening,” said Ms Lombardi.

So there we have it. Do as the ads and your grandfolk say and be water-wise this summer. Drink from the tap, that stuff is liquid gold!

To discover water initiatives and learn how to keep your water usage to a minimum, visit www.citywestwater.com.au or follow City West Water on Facebook and Instagram

This piece featured in the December issue of The Westsider. 

Do Mums Wear Bikinis?

Last weekend I was hanging out with fellow mum Miss P, when we got onto the topic of swimming.

We both sighed. A sigh of a sweet summer of swimming with our kids but also a deep sigh as we started discussing pool logistics.

Ahhh….. swimming. What should be so simple is such a logistical nightmare.

Pool season is upon us. I went to a large pool in my area on Saturday. It was hot outside so it was the place to be. The carpark was packed and I spent fifteen minutes stalking and circling fellow bathers in my car, hoping they’d be on the move. The mega shopping centre nearby was heaving and I managed to find a park somewhere in the suburb nearby. I was cranky and hot and sweaty with my swimmers on underneath my frock. Alfie was a sweating, slippery mass, fidgeting and annoyed.

Poos and wees

We’ve been thinking about toilet training. Our son isn’t ready, I don’t think, but perhaps over summer he will be? We have bought a potty and like everything plastic introduced into our house, this one has caused a whole lot of excitement.

Alfie has been pouring cups of water into the potty and both he and the dog drink out of it. The potty gets dragged across the floor and shown to anyone who comes over for a visit. No one else is allowed to sit on the potty. No one is allowed to touch it either. God forbid.

The potty has caused so much excitement that my son keeps taking my hand and showing it to me in the bathroom. He has no idea what to do with it, but he likes looking at it and showing me how to take the lid off it and drink out of it. Sigh.

We’ve been using the words ‘poos and wees’ in our house for a while now. Ever since we discovered that Alfie liked to poo behind the curtain. When we see him heading in that direction we ask him if he is going to do poos, usually his raised brow, red fierce face, hunched back and clenched hands leaning on the wall say it all.

When my husband or I go to the toilet it’s a huge ceremony. Alfie always wants to watch and wave bye-bye to the poo. It’s always so exciting to press the flush button and to see how the toilet paper goes around on the holder.

Some mornings after a poo ceremony, it’s really hard to move on from this farewell display to go to the office and take on serious meetings about serious stuff. Sometimes during serious discussions at work I might get a call from my husband who will explain to me the ins and outs of a new poo dance that Alfie has devised or a story about the fascination with the toilet. It can be very hard to switch back to writing documents and speaking with managers.

Prior to the last few months, I had never been to the toilet in front of my husband. It was the one thing I held onto. My one last piece of dignity. Since the fascination with all things bathroom has kicked in, I’m now showering while my dog, son and husband clean teeth, do wees, play with the potty, fix the toilet roll holder, close and open and close the toilet lid, pull the towel off the rail, look in the toilet, throw things in the bath, talk about poos… the list goes on. I can’t even do that secret wee in the shower that no one ever admits to.

So now that I go to the toilet with an audience, what dignity remains? I have no idea about this toilet training thing apart from the many discussions I have had with my husband about putting down the lid. I still continue to lie to my husband that I have diarrhoea and I shut the door of the bathroom and secretly play Tetris on my phone. My husband recently said that I should go and see a doctor as I had been sick in the tummy for some time. I think my private time is almost up.

I would love to know where you go from here. Once your kid grows up, can you revive any sense of mystery about yourself? Will there ever be a time where no one knows that you’ve done a poo?

Until that time arrives, I’m making the most of my toilet time at work.

This post first appeared on Bubba West.