I Want a Bath

There are some things in life that are considered unnecessary because alternatives exist. One of these is the bath. Does it really matter which method you use to get clean? Slowly, it seems, various places are making the tub obsolete: schools, hotels, even some houses no longer give the option of bath or shower.

I really wish they wouldn't do this. Baths and showers serve totally different purposes except for the most superficial one of personal hygiene. To me, showers are all business, while baths offer a chance to relax. Taking nothing but showers for weeks, months, years at a time begins to wear down a basic need to treat myself nicely. I start to feel like I'm missing something vital, like I'm not getting enough of a certain vitamin: sure, I can continue on existing, but it could be better.

When I'm feeling cold, tired, stressed, if my feet hurt, or for any other various reason, I just want a bath. I yearn for a nice long hot soak in a tub where I can fully relax and have some time pampering myself in a way that only a bath can achieve. But, the reality is that I am at school. Living in a dorm. The only things in our rooms designed to hold any amount of water here are sinks and toilet bowls. I would even be open to going to the jacuzzi if we had one, even though that would mean a severe drop in privacy for my bathing pleasures. But that doesn't matter anyway, because all we have is a pool and a sauna. And what I want is to lower myself into that warm, warm water and be surrounded by it, be caressed by it. Besides, chlorine makes me itch.

Over the summer I was able to take baths whenever I wanted. I could sit and enjoy the water for as long as I wanted, whereas the longer I take in the shower the guiltier I feel. Also, swimming in (fairly) open water and sitting under a waterfall feel totally different. I want to be able to pay the attention to my feet that they deserve and that is long overdue, instead of giving them a quick once over with my washcloth while I stand in an awkward flamingo-like position trying my hardest not to touch the walls of the shower (which seem to feel perpetually slimy when wet, no matter how often we clean them).

And, while I usually desire a bath so that I can escape into my own world undisturbed for a little while, when I finally move into a house with my husband, one of the things I will be lobbying for is a bath tub big enough for two. What can I say? It's the little things in life.