1

= the number of excessive molecules of water that will cause cytolysis (cell death).

My Little Friend was asking me not too long ago if it is true that you can drink so much water that you die. I told him that it is true. It's rare, and you will feel really awful if you're drinking that much water that quickly, but it is possible. I remember learning about it in Anatomy & Physiology. You can drink so much water that your cells will explode trying to maintain balance within their environment. Public Service Announcement: Don't try this at home. If your cells die, you die too.

I was thinking about that this morning. Background information: One time when my kids were little and all my extended family were around for some reason that eludes me at the moment Taylor asked me "Are you happy, Mama?". When I replied that I was happy, he asked for a drink of water. My family thought that was hilarious and have teased me repeatedly over the years about my kids doing a "mood check" before they asked for things like water.

I remembered this today because today at 5:50 a.m., after I had already spent about an hour this morning cleaning up the mess they made yesterday and within the first thirty seconds of their arrival here, the small children that I'm babysitting this week (and last week) were already whining at me for breakfast and TV. When their breakfast was gone and they had all been wiped down and wiped up after and sent off to play, they asked for more food. When that was all gone, and the wiping down and wiping up had been done again, they started fighting over 2 (out of the 35 in the toy basket) mini stuffed animals.

I know that shortly one of them will fill his pants and I will be cleaning him up. Shortly after that one or another of them will pee all over the toilet seat. They will argue and whine and poke each other throughout the day. They will spread the toys, the dirty socks, the cups, the grapes, the cheerios, and the grubby fingerprints all over the house. This will all be repeated, without a doubt and without a break, all day long.

My own beloved and cherubic kids, when they were small, were every bit as annoying at times. That, my friends, is why a "mood check" was sometimes necessary before asking Mama for one more thing. Because all that aggravation adds up, drop by drop and day by day, and it's a fact that one too many tiny droplets can bring about great trouble.

I think I smell something. Gotta go.