HYDRATE

“Don’t forget your water bottles!” my son Alex called from the kitchen as I was headed out the front door for work.

“Oh, for the love of…” I put my bags down and went back to the kitchen to pick up my two insulated water bottles from the counter. “I just finished filling them too!”

“Maybe you should slow down.” Alex looked at the clock on the stove. “You’re not late are you?”

“No.” I sighed. “I just feel like I have so much stuff to bring to work everyday!” I tucked the water bottles under my arm and went to get my bags. “You know when I was a kid no one walked around carrying water bottles.” Alex had followed me to the front hall as I reached down and scooped up my bags. “When did everyone get so obsessed with keeping hydrated?”
Alex laughed. “You never drank water when you were a kid?”

I adjusted the water bottles under my arm as I reached for the door knob. “Not like this. When you were playing outside, if you got thirsty, you took a sip from the garden hose.”

Alex looked surprised. “Did you really drink from a hose?”

I laughed as I put the water bottles on the side table and readjusted my two shoulder bags then reached for my lunch bag.

“Here, let me help you.” Alex took the water bottles and lunch bag and we headed out the door together. “Well?”

“Well, what?” I took my keys out of my purse and tapped the key fob to unlock the car.

“Did you really drink from a garden hose?”

“Yuck, no!” I tossed my bags in the back seat. “I didn’t, but a lot of kids did.”

“That’s gross.” He handed me the water bottles and I tossed them on the front seat. “I thought so, too. When I was a kid when you got thirsty you went in and got a drink! It was easy.”

“But once you’re thirsty you’re already dehydrated.” he reminded me.

“Well we didn’t know that then.” I climbed in the car, tossing my lunch bag on the floor. “Besides it never seemed to bother you when you were younger. I never packed water bottles for you when you went to school.”

“That’s because we all used the water fountains in school.”

I looked over at him with a horrified look on my face. “Oh, my gosh! You did?”

“Of course we did.” Alex shook his head and laughed. “I can still taste the water in school, it always had that nice hint of lead when you drank it.”

“Those things were filthy!” I cringed as I thought about it. “Every kid in school sticking their mouths on it!”

Alex reached in the door and patted me on the shoulder. “So that’s the reason why all the kids are bringing water bottles to school now.”

“Oh man, I’m so sorry.” I shook my head. “But no one was talking about staying hydrated when you were little.”

“I forgive you.” He stepped back so I could close the door. He tapped the roof of the car as I started to pull out of the driveway. “Stay hydrated!”