My Annual Bath

I took my annual bath this weekend. Yes, I shower regularly, but a bath is a whole different experience. I put the kids to bed early and sent the hub out with his buddy. Amongst the Disney décor and soggy bath toys, using the only bath in our house, I lit candles around the tub. I grabbed some sale ads from the mail I’ve been meaning to look at (don’t laugh, time to look at ads can be a luxury!), and I poured a glass of red wine from the new bottle I opened just for this occasion. The water was perfectly scalding as I dipped in. I closed my eyes….and listened to my kid’s whispers in the room next door. It wasn’t a school night so they were going to sleep together (because that plan is always successful). I browsed through the Michael’s ad, dreaming of the Pinterest miracles I could create, and was still being serenaded by their muffled giggles. I smiled, I sipped my wine. My son needed a drink of water and since I was invading his bathroom space, he came to admire the candles surrounding the tub. Of course his sister was quick to follow. They marveled at the candles, wondering why their baths aren’t like this (because you’d light the house on fire, I thought to myself), and they told me how relaxed I looked. With the ad spread wide to create some non-existent privacy, I smiled and said, “Yes, I was.” They took the hint and moseyed back to bed. This was clearly not the bath from a romance movie where the bubbles overflow, the book never gets wet (my ads all had wet edges when I was done), with ocean waves breaking in the background. But that was ok. Because I love my silly kids who giggle when they share a bed and it’s good for them to see mom taking care of herself­- albeit surrounded with Mickey and friends. If I had really wanted “peace and quiet” I would have waited until they were sound asleep. But as a mom, I will take my annual bath whenever I can fit it in. If that means reading a grocery store ad by candle light, I am totally ok with that.