There has been a lot of flooding in Nelson recently, it hasn’t affected my family hugely – we only had a day without power and another without water but many around the region have had up close and personal experiences with the water and it’s mud ally.
It has however got me thinking, when did we become so disconnected to our natural environment? Not having tap water when there is water ALL around you is a weird thing …. Your life becomes hampered because the tap is dry. No power at night and you can’t just switch on a light to find your matches to make light. As it was helpful to keep off the roads due to all the road closures, for entertainment my son and I chucked our wet weather gear on and went to hang out in the rain, it was nice to slosh through puddles and enjoy the sounds of our streams and the rain. At one point I remarked to him that I was thirsty and that we needed to think about heading home and that was when I got the kick in the pants that I needed as he said ‘Mum why don’t you stick out your tongue and drink the rain’….. duh! Not only have I become so used to having the elements nicely packaged and at my fingertips but I had forgotten the simple pleasure of playing in the puddles and tasting the rain.