Tub Time

It's Tub time for Mommy. I walk into the master bathroom and turn off the lights. I light some candles, and turn on the electric candles in the chandelier above the Tub. I turn the faucet on, and get the water as hot as I can stand. I pour some bubble bath in the water.

The bubble bath is a gift from my friend Mama Stacy. I don't use it very often because it's special and I like saving it for when I "need" it. Last night I decided to treat myself... because it IS a treat. It's Double Cocoa. Oh. My. Goodness. It literally smells like Hershey's chocolate syrup. The bubbles in the bath smell like chocolate, and I use it as a body wash and shampoo so I smell like chocolate too.

I get into the Tub and the water is so hot it stings my skin but it also gives me chills. I say a prayer out loud to God, thanking Him for hot water. It feels so good. The only thing I can hear are the bubbles popping in the water. Then it's time to go under.

I go underwater with only my eyes and nose sticking out for air. Going underwater makes the world disappear. I can't hear any noises because the water is pressing up against my ears. The only thing I can hear is my breath. It is meditative and calming to hear the in-out-in-out whooshing of my lungs. I am the type of person who doesn't sit still very well, and I have trouble meditating or trying to be quiet. The only place it works for me is in the Tub. It is so grounding and centering to do this.

While underwater, I open my eyes and see the chandelier. It was a gift from my friend Karen. I also see the candles that I bought on our last girls' road trip to IKEA. These things make me think of my friends, and how blessed I am to have them. The water is hot, so I need to sit up and cool off. I use a big sea sponge to drizzle water on my back. Sometimes Dan joins me in the Tub and drizzles water for me, but tonight I do it myself.

The Tub is surrounded by the shrapnel and clutter that comes with having a baby in the house. The daily use for the Tub is to corral the one-year-old while I quickly shower. Toys usually fill the Tub, but tonight they're propped on the sides. I see the favorite book and rubber ducky, and think of the sweet boy asleep on the other side of the wall. His sister too, across the hall from him. I whisper another prayer of thanksgiving for their lives, and that they are on loan to me.

I'm getting drowsy and ready to go read in bed. I dry myself off and put my favorite Bath & Body Works Honeysuckle lotion on my blazing hot skin. Dan comes into the bathroom to get ready for bed too. When I'm finished with my beauty routine I meet him in bed to perform our role of Old Married Couple, which consists of laying in bed and reading. (He won't get near me anyway because he says my skin is too hot.) The sheets are clean, the kids are asleep, I'm relaxed and all is well with the world.