What's Water Got To Do With It?

Everything!!!

When Josh was little, he learned to distinguish the taste of pure water and impure water. His taste buds were so acute that he was able to know what was good for him and what was not. He used this information to his advantage.

The beginning of the school year - Second Grade.

It was September. Joshua's behavior turned sour, very sour. He came home from school each day throwing himself on the floor, with bouts of uncontrollable crying. He spent a lot of time in his room. He was unbearable to be around.

After a few hours he could calm down and rejoin the family without incidents; weekends were free of this behavior. I knew it had to be coming from school. My questions were consistent:

Were they painting?
Could you smell anything at school?
Were you using anything different in the classrooms?

His answers were the same, "No mom, I don't notice anything." It continued to be a mystery for two weeks. Each day was like the last, Joshua unable to control his emotions.

At the end of two weeks Joshua said, "Mom, the water at school tastes funny."

"STOP DRINKING THE WATER."

Josh arrived at school the next day with a water bottle and a note allowing him to have his own water. This was 20 years ago. It was not considered trendy to be carrying a bottle of water around with you. Josh's health was more important.

A week later, I met with Josh's teacher to explain the situation. She stopped me cold. "You don't have to explain anything. Since you took Josh off the water, his grades have gone up." How confirming for all of us! We are not crazy!

And then in December, the water company sent a notice that there had been a chemical spill in one of their wells. No worry, we'll just increase the standards for that particular chemical. Now who is the crazy one? Why would that be an acceptable practice? How many other children were affected by this water without knowing it?

For years, Joshua was extremely careful about the quality of his water. Water is meant to flush and rehydrate the system. Once chemicals such as chlorine or rust inhibitors (not to mention toxic poisons) are added to any water, the body must now work to filter it. It is no longer able to be used for its designed purpose.

A funny thing happened more recently to Joshua. He has since grown and moved to West Hartford. He called me one evening with concerns about his overall health. He was feeling exhausted and had no ambition. He could not focus at class and his memory was declining. He just didn't feel well at all.

With the help of muscle testing, I finally got to the issue. "What are you drinking?" I asked. He admitted that he was having concerns over the quality of bottled water as well as the plastic in which it is stored. He made a conscious choice to buy a quality water filter and put it on his tap at home so he could begin drinking from it. Not a good choice! Even his quality water filter could not get all the toxins out of that water supply. Josh had poisoned himself!

"STOP DRINKING THE WATER!" These were words I had spoken 20 years ago with Josh. Here we were learning the same lessons. A week later, I gave Josh a call.

I could tell by the tone in his voice that we had gotten to the root of the evil. He answered the phone happy and full of energy. "I'm good mom, it was the water."

Yes, we are still learning after all these years. And that's okay. What's important is that we remember to take our water seriously.