Water. Water. Water.

Some days, I have to take a step back, or fall on the path to realize where I really am. We made it to our house in Italy. My dog Brickle made it to his house. It was so hard to get here. And yet, I feel like this may be the hardest time of my life. The scariest time of my life. And I either keep trying, or I give up. It’s as simple as that.

I feel like I’m on that show Little House On The Prairie. We have some solar power. We have water, but only from a waterfall. In order to get water in the house, that is going to be a long process. So we use jugs that we fill up three times a day. We also have a solar shower…which is a black jug that gets hot if the sun is out. But with the rainy season upon us, the rocks to the waterfall are even more slippery. And Nathan’s positivity doesn’t keep me from worrying.

Water. I sure have taken it for granted all of my life. The magic of running water to wash dishes or shower or mop the floor. Now, every drop is important. For our drinking water, we carry bottled water up the path to the house the 1/3 mile. Oh, water. Water. Water.

We can only do so much every day as two people. And we have Italian class three times a week for two hours a day. If we don’t pass our test in September, we can’t get a visa. And it’s a lot. A lot. A lot. But I am strong. I have resolve. And we can do this. We just need a temporary fix for now that makes it less treacherous on a daily basis.

So, our new project will be getting two cisterns. And a hot water heater and pipes to make a device we can get water from the existing cistern or waterfall.  That we simply don’t have to climb on rocks with big, heavy jugs. And way to heat the water. A way to get water when we need it. This system will be useful even after down the road we get pipes replaced and water turned on in the house.

There is so much to do that some days, I don’t knew if we can do it. Grief over losing Brickle has been and continues to be a heavy weight. We have talked. And if we don’t pull this together now, we won’t make it. We have to make it. For Brickle. For us. For Fruitycake. We can do it. I hope.

-Rachael