hydrate. a quick story.

my Aunt (notice the water in her bike basket)

Maybe this is one of those "you had to be there" stories, but I have a funny story about my week with my Aunt. You think you know your family... but it's not until you live with someone for a few days or a week in my case that you really get to see all of their little quirks. It didn't take long to see that my Aunt has one quirk that is borderline obsessive compulsive or just plain neurotic.

My Aunt is serious about hydrating. She is so into drinking water that when we would leave the house for a half hour, she would pack 3 bottles of water. When we went for an hour and a half drive, she packed a whole cooler full of water. Every time we were going somewhere, she made sure to bring some water (and backup). During our ride home from Trieste, I watched her guzzle a whole bottle of water in mere minutes and then immediately crush the bottle and throw it on the floor of the car. She then turned to me in the back and said, "Can I get another bottle of water?" I watched in astonishment. This woman is passionate about water.

It became a running joke throughout the course of the week. Before we would leave to go somewhere, I'd say, "We might be gone for an hour, you might want to bring some water." I'd turn to face her to see her tapping her bag, ready to go - holding three bottles of water.

I don't think my Aunt could ever live in a third world country. She would need to have her bottled bubbly water or at least a Brita. Maybe it's because she is a nurse or maybe it's because she previously lived in Vegas where dehydration is very common because of the lack of humidity, but of all the beautiful things we saw and did in Italy, I walk away with one clear image - that of my Aunt crushing bottles of water like it was her job.