A nice hot bath

I get it from my Mom I think, my love of a hot bath at the end of a day. There was a time when my day would end with the sound of water escaping down the drain and my skin puckered and wrinkled like a sultana raisin. Cliché I know but it’s truth so I’ll let it slide.

My daughter gets a bath every night and she uses this time to continue playing. Once she was big enough to sit by herself in the big bathtub this has become her modus operandi for bath time. And I wonder when her play will transform itself into the full submersion and meditation that bath time means for me. There’s a natural progression I think.

Growing up my sister and I bathed together up until the age of about 6 and 4 I think. I’m aging a little here so I could have misplaced actual dates but the point is that we spent this time constructing bubble bath garments, hairstyles and beards. We created tsunami splashes to make more bubbles and pretended to be in a canoe, paddling down a river with our hands or the back scrubber as paddles. Individual baths held the same activities. Bath time at my cousins house during overnight visits were riotous affairs with bath toys, boats and sharks, thinks we never had at our house and therefore a treat. And the tub at Grandma’s house had a shallow sloping back that was fun to slide down until Mom, Dad, or Grandma came in and told s to stop.

The older I got the less physical a bath became. Dunking my head under the water and trying to float transitioned into staring into space in a blissed out trance, complete with candles and aromatherapy oils. My mom now has an antique clawfoot tub that is super long and nice and high. Having a bath in there demands candles and bubbles and soothing music. Each of the grandchildren have been photographed in that tub and the day I got married I soaked in there for a good two hours before getting my hair done and the dress on. She has a bath every night, a luxury I take advantage of whenever we visit.

If you’re in the mood for a good soak or want a little fun in the tub try out these lavish and playful bath products from Etsy sellers.