And no, I’m not talking about optional hygiene. :) Although that's a view my pre-teen often takes.
We’ve talked before on WP about baths. Some of us are big proponents of them, both for relaxing and for writing.
I shower every day, but I take a bath a couple of times a week, usually at the end of a hard day or when I want some down time where everyone leaves me alone. Often I take a book with me, reading away an hour while my body lets all the tension melt away. Sometimes I take my journal or my alphasmart so I can write or jot down notes when scenes start to play in my head. And on rare occasions I take nothing with me, simply closing the door and sinking deep into the heat, letting my brain go blessedly numb.
As I lay in chin-deep warm water last night, I thought about something I heard from a non-bath proponent. She said taking a bath seemed like laying in your own dirt. Well, I guess it could be seen that way, although I don’t. I’ve usually had a shower earlier that morning – I take most of my baths at night. Baths aren’t usually for “bathing” for me, but instead for relaxing, brainstorming, reading, or clearing my mind. I’ve never gotten out of the tub and left a film of dirt in the bottom.
I’ve often wondered if “showerers” do the same thing. Obviously you can’t read in the shower, although I’ve heard of having televisions installed in showers. And I have taken a quick shower at night if I needed that proximity to water but just didn’t want to mess with a long soak.
But my favorite form of a bath isn’t really a bath at all – it’s a hot tub. We used to have one until we moved. The Playfriends sometimes take trips to the mountains and the house we stay in has a hot tub. Lots of brainstorming going on there!
It was on another mountain trip that I found my ideal bath tub – the one that I’ll buy if I ever become a millionaire. It’s a stand alone whirlpool that maintains temperature and has a fireplace as a focal point. Here’s a picture:
Heavenly, isn’t it?
So, to bathe or not to bathe… What's your most memorable bath?
Angel
P.S. I’m blogging today at The Mutual Admiration Society about motivation through action – like baths that prompt brainstorming. :)
I shower every day, but I take a bath a couple of times a week, usually at the end of a hard day or when I want some down time where everyone leaves me alone. Often I take a book with me, reading away an hour while my body lets all the tension melt away. Sometimes I take my journal or my alphasmart so I can write or jot down notes when scenes start to play in my head. And on rare occasions I take nothing with me, simply closing the door and sinking deep into the heat, letting my brain go blessedly numb.
As I lay in chin-deep warm water last night, I thought about something I heard from a non-bath proponent. She said taking a bath seemed like laying in your own dirt. Well, I guess it could be seen that way, although I don’t. I’ve usually had a shower earlier that morning – I take most of my baths at night. Baths aren’t usually for “bathing” for me, but instead for relaxing, brainstorming, reading, or clearing my mind. I’ve never gotten out of the tub and left a film of dirt in the bottom.
I’ve often wondered if “showerers” do the same thing. Obviously you can’t read in the shower, although I’ve heard of having televisions installed in showers. And I have taken a quick shower at night if I needed that proximity to water but just didn’t want to mess with a long soak.
But my favorite form of a bath isn’t really a bath at all – it’s a hot tub. We used to have one until we moved. The Playfriends sometimes take trips to the mountains and the house we stay in has a hot tub. Lots of brainstorming going on there!
It was on another mountain trip that I found my ideal bath tub – the one that I’ll buy if I ever become a millionaire. It’s a stand alone whirlpool that maintains temperature and has a fireplace as a focal point. Here’s a picture:
Heavenly, isn’t it?
So, to bathe or not to bathe… What's your most memorable bath?
Angel
P.S. I’m blogging today at The Mutual Admiration Society about motivation through action – like baths that prompt brainstorming. :)
7 comments:
At a casino hotel. Yeah, I know. It was a huge whirlpool which I think you could fit five people in and swim laps. I felt guilty just filling it.
I don't usually do baths, just showers. I guess I just can't be still long enough to enjoy the benefits of soaking.
I'm not a bath person. I try. I got a huge tub at this house, but wouldn't pay the extra $800 to upgrade it to a whirlpool. Regretting it now. I'd probably use it more if it was a whirlpool. Eh, who am I kidding? I don't know what to do with myself in there. I tried last week. I guess I should've taken a book, but I got in and I was like... huh. I made myself stick it out a half hour to justify the waste of water, but I guess my brain just doesn't go numb like that. I'll go for a long, hot, pointless shower, but baths bore me.
My apartment has two containers that are labeled tubs, but neither allows even short little me to lean back and stretch out. So no chin-deep soaks for me. :-( Mostly I take showers, but when my legs are bothering me at night, a soak in hot water will calm them down. In the tubs here, I can get my legs covered with water, but that's about it.
Most memorable bath -- well it wasn't a bath but a hot tub and it was at a condo complex in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The tub itself wasn't anything spectacular, but it was out in the open where you could see the stars and the mountains. And one night all of us in the ski group were in it and it started to snow. My hair was dotted with snowflakes and the little hairs on my neck froze from the cold. But oh, what a glorious soak!
I'm a firm believer in the power of the bath. But I've also had those moments of inspiration in the shower though so I think it has more to do with the water, steam and being blessedly alone. :-)
Insti
Amen, Instigator! Especially with kids at home. :)
Cheryl C. - Now that's my kind of tub! Ours are pretty small here. I have to bend my knees to sink chin deep in the water. But its worth it.
One of these days I'm going to install a whirlpool tub. Until then, maybe I need to walk to SP's house and use hers since she isn't. :)
Angel
Feel free to use it whenever you want. I'll trade baths for letting the dog out. I even have lots of bubble bath. Just warn me, so I'll clean up and leave a towel out for you. :)
SP, no you wouldn't. I have a whirlpool bath in my master. I've lived here for 4 years (5?) and I've used it maybe 3 times. I'm not a bath person. I get the water all nice and hot, get in there, and then I get bored. What now, I wonder? Books have never worked very well for me in the tub. If I'm going to jot story ideas, I'd rather be dry.
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