I bet you didn't know yesterday was World Toilet Day.
Then again you probably aren't married to an environmental engineer
who has a passion for waste water
whose name is Jon (another name for a toilet in the US)
and whose birthday is the same day as World Toilet Day.
Jon thinks that this is a cosmic coincidence and takes great joy in it.
He insisted that we incorporate World Toilet Day into his birthday celebration this year.
So how do you celebrate World Toilet Day and the birthday of a "poop engineer" (as my brother calls Jon's chosen profession)?
You squat.
For a minute.
To bring awareness to the 2.5 million people with out proper sanitation (that means no form of toilet or latrine... at all... nada... it means on the ground... in the water... you get the idea) and the 1.8 million people, mostly children, who die from disease related to poor sanitation.
So we squatted,
Unfortunately I don't have a picture of us squatting, but here are people squatting for World Toilet Day. I think next year Jon wants to get a group together at the university for a Big Squat event.
Decorated with toilet paper streamers,
and ate a toilet cake.
He insisted that we incorporate World Toilet Day into his birthday celebration this year.
So how do you celebrate World Toilet Day and the birthday of a "poop engineer" (as my brother calls Jon's chosen profession)?
You squat.
For a minute.
To bring awareness to the 2.5 million people with out proper sanitation (that means no form of toilet or latrine... at all... nada... it means on the ground... in the water... you get the idea) and the 1.8 million people, mostly children, who die from disease related to poor sanitation.
So we squatted,
Unfortunately I don't have a picture of us squatting, but here are people squatting for World Toilet Day. I think next year Jon wants to get a group together at the university for a Big Squat event.
Decorated with toilet paper streamers,
and ate a toilet cake.
I am pretty proud of this cake.
It was my first attempt ever at making a cake that wasn't round or square. It turned out pretty good but after I frosted it the bowl began to crack in the middle. I had to hold it together with saran wrap. I figured that somehow saran wrap and toilets kind of go together so it was alright. Next year I'll have to engineer it better. By the time Jon is 60 I am going to be amazing at making toilet cakes!
I think he had a really good day. He loves it that he shares his birthday with World Toilet day. He really has a passion for water and for finding ways to provide people with clean water. He gets so excited about it. In fact we have a rule at our house now that you can't talk about waste water, toilets, flocculation, or bio-solids at the dinner table. I don't mind talking about it at other times, it really is fascinating and goes hand in hand with my Public Health background, but I just can't handle it while I'm eating.
It's not too late to celebrate World Toilet Day.
Today as you use your toilet take a minute to think about how blessed you are
about how much you take your toilet
and your clean water for granted
because there are millions of people out there who don't have it.
It was my first attempt ever at making a cake that wasn't round or square. It turned out pretty good but after I frosted it the bowl began to crack in the middle. I had to hold it together with saran wrap. I figured that somehow saran wrap and toilets kind of go together so it was alright. Next year I'll have to engineer it better. By the time Jon is 60 I am going to be amazing at making toilet cakes!
I think he had a really good day. He loves it that he shares his birthday with World Toilet day. He really has a passion for water and for finding ways to provide people with clean water. He gets so excited about it. In fact we have a rule at our house now that you can't talk about waste water, toilets, flocculation, or bio-solids at the dinner table. I don't mind talking about it at other times, it really is fascinating and goes hand in hand with my Public Health background, but I just can't handle it while I'm eating.
It's not too late to celebrate World Toilet Day.
Today as you use your toilet take a minute to think about how blessed you are
about how much you take your toilet
and your clean water for granted
because there are millions of people out there who don't have it.
5 comments:
LOL. I read the cake inscription as "Happy BIDET Jon" -- which makes it doubly terrific. ;)
Hold the phones, when did he get his BA? And was it from BYU? Cuz I'm a civil engineer too! I graduated in 07.
Funny story... We went camping earlier this year up near Mormon Lake in AZ with some friends. We all went on a walk together to walk the dogs and a girl and I got separated from the main group. After 20 minutes I finally found them and discovered they had gone exploring and found a water treatment plant. Jeron could tell I was upset so he walked there with me so I could see it. It was probably one of the highlights of my trip. Haha, I hope I always stay an engineer at heart even though I really just want to be a stay-at-home Mommy.
Oh, and happy birthday Jon!
Lisa,
Jon actually got his undergrad in Latin and Greek. Yeah, not even close to engineering but he never really liked Latin or Greek so he decided that he wanted to be an engineer. Right now he is working on his Masters, he has to take some of the undergrad classes along with his graduate classes. So I don't think you would have ever met at BYU-- unless of course you took Greek.
hi heather!
i just wanted to write back after your comment on your blog - it's just so funny, you don't know how often i think that i'm 25, working, and unmarried [though i do have a lovely boyfriend of 2 lovely years], and feel i'm just missing out on a more fulfilling life so to speak... of course i do like my job, but while there are interesting perks, the majority of any job is quite dull... hours spent in my gray cubicle writing reports, that may or may not be read or useful in the end. you can feel like your days are so meaningless - and i look at my sisters and friends who are all having kids and building families and think how much more meaningful their lives are. how important what they're doing is, compared to my single existence. even though i know so much of motherhood is dull and hard and VERY unglamorous, it has eternal meaning. while my life currently is great for building my intellect and experience, it is all in my mind a preparatory stage for being a mother. there's nothing more important, even if it doesn't seem as exciting... i'm happy to know i'll have my foot in both worlds for the rest of my life, but work will never compare to the joys and importance of raising kids.
anyway, the point is, i think we all look at each others' lives and think "oh how wonderful their life is! how important and meaningful - and how boring mine is in comparison." haha - it's just this human cycle. and i LOVE reading your blog, because you express the importance of birth, motherhood, children, family so well. and i think you are STUNNING and amazing. honestly.
sorry for the long comment/diatribe. i just wanted to tell you that i have the same thoughts reading your blog that you have reading mine :)
glad we could reconnect, heather. you are awesome! i absolutely mean that!
and your cake is FAB! :)
take care!
julianne.
Post a Comment