Friday, February 16, 2007

splish splash


My oldest son has loved the bathtub since as far back as I can remember. He can sit and soak forever. When he would come home from college on breaks, I would hear that water running and know that bathroom would be occupied for at least an hour. When he was in his younger years, I would always be able to tell when he was very stressed or frustrated at school. Those afternoons, instead of reaching for a snack, he would say "Mom, I feel like taking a bath".
Me on the other hand, I am a shower person. The other day I was feeling a bit stressed and thought I would take a cue from my wise oldest son. "I wish I was a bath person" was my thought. I made the water nice and hot, I added Dove body wash to have some bubbly effect, I lit many candles and placed them esthetically around the tub and over by the sink. I made a cup of Trader Jos bedtime tea. Slowly, I sank into this soothing, luxurious retreat. At first I breathed many cleansing breaths as if doing lamaze again. I closed my eyes, my fingers and toes started relaxing. My extremely tight neck felt looser- I thought, Gee why don't I ever take the time to do this? This is wonderful! After about 15 minutes of soaking and watching the steam rise off my bubbles, something happened that reminded me of What had happened years ago in a Hot yoga class. I felt this immense rush of crushing heat rising from somewhere below my waist up to my head, along with the worst pounding headache. The news headline of NAKED STROKE VICTIM passed through my mind. I couldn't stand up and get that Cold shower on quick enough. To Hell with those strategically aligned candles. They will have to get rinsed too. It took me a long time afterwards to get my body temperature back to normal. I put on summer pjs. I took 3 advils. My face was so red I could have burst into flames at any moment. Once you are in your 40's you don't fool around when racing pain goes to your head.
I'm Crushed that I'm just not a "relax and soak in the tub" kind of girl.

11 comments:

Faith said...

That is something to be crushed about:) I wish I enjoyed it too but I just feel like I'm wasting time. Plus I just got over a broken ankle and I frankly never want to have a bath again. What can you do.

Anonymous said...

Your blogs, as always, are so entertaining to me. I see you reacting. Did I ever tell you the story of the Jacuzzi?

Miss you
Love Suzie Q

Deirdre said...

Oh, that's terrible. I still love a good long bath when I'm stressed, but not too hot - it takes too long to cool down these days.

Liza on Maui said...

yeah...maybe reduce the temperature next time? I enjoyed reading your scribblings on crush - I hope you can enjoy your next bath :)

Kristine said...

I have heard that you should not take hot baths or get into hot tubs if you have blood pressure issues. I'm glad you made it out ok.

Regina said...

I get the same way in baths and I rarely go into my hot tub- if I do I always keep my shoulders above the water line!

rel said...

Lucy,
Delightful, even if scary, story.
I'm a shower person. I do take ice water baths after training runs though.
rel

Giggles said...

Hilarious post, but I am a bath girl...Victoria Secrets Amber Romance ravishing my body... a luxurious meditation, many of my creative moments spark in the tub. Intuition too! Mental pause and all, I love my bath!
Giggles

gautami tripathy said...

Here I was thinking what a relaxing post and then you give us a scare.


gautami
Painfully yours..

Jane said...

Lucy, you had me thinking that you had finally converted to a "bath woman" and then the surprising twist at the end!! Funny!! I am a bath person. At least 4 a week. I can say that I have had one or two that were so hot I felt that I was going to need a paramedic to assist me out :))

Mary J. said...

I'm the same way. The idea of a bath is probably more relaxing than the reality. I'd rather just light some incense or candles and stay dry.

Hilarious story. Thanks for sharing.