Monday, November 27, 2006

Calgon, take me away!*

Once I was old enough to take showers instead of baths, I never looked back. At one point, I attempted a relaxing bath several years ago. I’m not particularly fond of the idea of a bare bottom going where bare feet have been, so I spent a couple of hours scrubbing the tub first. I never tried it again. It’s not all that relaxing when you have to do all that work immediately beforehand.

When we had our house built, we went for the "super bath" option with the separate tub and shower. Surely, I could get into the whole relaxing bath thing if no one had to stand in the tub on a regular basis. When we moved in, I was 39 weeks pregnant, and I couldn’t take a bath for a month and a half after giving birth. Then there was a repair that had to be done. Then the edges needed to be recaulked. So the tub got dirty. I tried to clean it, but that was nearly impossible. I had nearly given up on the idea of my relaxing bath. We hired cleaners to clean our bathrooms, so I was assured of a clean tub on a regular basis.

In May, Pete went to New York on business, so I sent a Lush shopping list with him. The bag has been in the closet ever since. Every time I thought I would take a bath, I decided I was just too tired and I’d rather sleep. Two weeks ago, I was finally ready for my bath. I told Pete several times that I was planning to take a bath that Saturday night. Then I fell asleep nursing Zuzu. I woke up 2 hours later, and I was so groggy, I barely made it out of the chair and into my own bed. I was so disappointed.

This Saturday, everyone was in bed by 10, and I finally managed my long-awaited soak in the tub. It almost didn’t happen, though. The stopper was unscrewed and wasn’t sealing, so the water just went down the drain. Eventually, I got it all squared away, filled the tub, threw in my bath bomb, turned on the jets, and settled in. It was heaven. I can’t wait until next Saturday.

*Apparently, Calgon is still around. I had no idea. I remember my mom saying "Calgon, take me away!" when she’d had a particularly stressful day when I was a kid, and I have vague recollections of the television commercials. I don’t think I really knew what it was except that it looked like it came in a box like dishwasher detergent. I guess it was bubble bath or bath salts or something of that sort. Now they have a whole line of bubble baths, body sprays, and lotions, etc.

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