Ah...gummy babies: National Water Day

When my first born son was younger, he would hike sometimes with my dad when he and mom would come out to the desert for a visit. Pappaw (my dad) and my son would make water breaks fun and demonstrative. They would take a good swig out of their canteens or water bottles, wipe their mouths with the back of their hands, and release "ah....gummy babies."  That was their thing. It was their "This water tastes so cool and good and my thirst is quenched" moment. I loved it. Anything to make water more fun and appealing, especially to kids.

Today is National Water Day.
Specifically it is about our global water crisis and what we can do to help the crisis as well as cheering for the progress we've made so far. A worthy endeavor for sure.

So, I am spotlighting water today.

Living in a desert, we get very little rain, but oh how I love a good rainy day when we do happen to be so lucky as to get one. I love it all: the feel of the cool rain, especially on a hot day, the smell of it like nature's perfume, and the sound of it hitting the windows and roofs creating the most perfect lullaby. We really appreciate water here in the desert because we get it so rarely.  We do drink a lot of though.

Most days, I don't have trouble drinking my daily allotment of water. I actually like water because it feels clean when I drink it, like I'm giving my insides a shower. And while I love my decaffeinated iced tea (as a good southern girl should), nothing quenches my desert thirst the way water does.

Now, everyone always offers suggestions for drinking more water like adding natural flavorings like lemon slices to it or drinking it in herbal teas. I have a different suggestion to help you drink water. It may work for you, it may not, but I've always been told there are no bad ideas. On occasion when I do need to drink water and for whatever reason it's just not ringing my bell, I chew a piece of gum. For me bubble mint, spearmint, or cinnamon work the best. I'm not sure if it's the mintiness or the sweetness (even with sugar free gum), but chewing gum makes me want to drink water. It may work for you too. Who knows? But, it's worth it to me if it helps me get my water down.

What helps you to drink your water?