by: Jennifer Poure
Months ago, we get this huge water bill (I have a small heart attack). I remember paying the bill via the company’s website and waiting for the confirmation number. Well, that did not happen and I was afraid to click on send again because it may take out the money twice. I decided to wait until the next day to make sure that the payment went through and it did because the bank had a pending charged.
Two weeks later, I come home after picking up my kid from school and get ready to start dinner. I turn on the faucet and nothing comes out. I check the other faucets and the toilets and no water. I call the water company and ask what is going on. They inform me that my water has been turned off due to failure of payment. I paid I PAID, I yelled. They ask for my confirmation number and I explained to them what happened. Since I have no confirmation number there is no proof.
I call DH and asked him if we paid the water bill and he said yes and the money was taken out of our (more like his) account. I call the bank and they confirm with the exact time and the code that the water company used to take out the money. I called the water bill and they told me that they will offer me a courtesy by turning on my water but I have to show them proof from the bank. In the meantime my water could be turn on somewhere within the next 24 hours.
As soon as she said that, all of a sudden, I became really thirsty. With the thirst came a sudden urge to pee. I now also longed for a bubble bath and wanted to do things like mop the floors. All of these things that are associated with me needing and wanting water.
They turned on the water exactly 36 hours later and I was pissed. I went down to the office with my proof that the bank faxed me and began to berate the company for their incompetence. I explained to them how they put me in a situation that was uncomfortable and unbearable especially since I was postpartum.
When I mentioned the word “postpartum” that got their attention. They took my information and were going to do a thorough search on what happened with the account. They called me two days later and found that there was a glitch in their system. They apologize profusely for leaving me and my family stranded in my “situation”. The manager told me she understood my condition since she was a mother herself. She asked how old was my youngest child. 2, I replied. And again more apologies for leaving a mother with her two month old child without the necessity of water. I told her fine and that my child is 2 years old. She said I thought you were postpartum.
According to Webster’s dictionary, the word postpartum means after birth. Don’t let your perception trump reality.
Deborah Dephicit responds:
I’ve been very moody lately and have all of the symptoms of being post-partum, except for actually having given birth. Maybe I’m just retaining water? (Ha ha.)
Adult Onset Poverty 