September 29: Forgotten Comforts

It's funny; all the things you remember and all the little things you forget. My earliest memory is standing in my crib, hands on the rail, and watching my mom come into the room. I don't remember the details of what I was wearing or what stuffed animals were keeping me company. I can't remember if she was coming in to get me out or to yell at me for not sleeping. I just remember a quick, blurry snapshot.

That was probably twenty-six years ago or so. In the fall of 1989, my family moved to our current place of residence and for sixteen years until I left for college, I took at least one shower a day there. Of course there are the few nights that I was elsewhere, but for the better part of my youth, I was taking showers in Alpine, California in soft water.

For those of you that don't know, there is a huge difference between soft and the standard hard water you're probably used to. Water that has magnesium and calcium dissolved into it is often labeled as "hard." These two minerals can cause buildup known as "scale" on the insides of pipes which can reduce the flow of water. They also react with soap limiting lather and forms scum that can stick to shower walls. Soft water is simply the same water which has been filtered to replace the magnesium and calcium with sodium ions.

For most people, the minor issues of hard water are overlooked and ignored. For my dad, they are the perfect ingredients for an uncomfortable shower. When he first purchased the water softener, I didn't notice any difference. When the family took its annual trip to Palm Springs, however, I was forced to shower in the hotel and I immediately recognized the despicable nature of hard water.

Suddenly, the water didn't slide off my body. It beaded up and rolled off. I couldn't mold my hair into that familiar soap-Mohawk I had grown accustomed to making without the help of my Pantene lather. When I dried off, my skin felt dry; and I'm talking about flaky-skin-dry and not lack-of-water-dry. It was miserable!

I dealt with the uncomfortable sensation every time my family went any where while growing up. I would put up with it for the weekend until we returned home and I could go back to my soft water shower. It wasn't until college, however, that I was forced to take hard water showers for months on end. As horrible as the first week back from visiting home always was, I still managed to acclimate myself to the unfavorable conditions.

Last night, I took a soft water shower for the first time since February and I had forgotten how nice they were. No scum. Plenty of lather. No buildup in the pipes on the other side of the wall. It was simply magnificent. I remember the feeling of being lifted high in the air and placed on my dad's shoulders for a better look at the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland. I can still see the top of his head and running my tiny little fingers through his thin hair in an attempt to hold on, but I couldn't remember the comforts of a simple soft water shower I took day in and day out.