>My favorite (hiding) place

>I’m finally returning to All About MEme Monday – a little late in the day – because it suits what I want to write about today anyway (and it’s fun to play along).

The prompt this week is:

I’m surprised I couldn’t come up with my answer right away, but then again, I don’t get to spend enough time in my favorite spot.  I used to visit it every morning, but now I’d say it’s more like every two or three days before I get to return to it.  (Brief) absence makes the heart grow fonder, so at this point I can say honestly that I love…

my shower.

There is absolutely nothing special about my shower just to look at it.  It’s your average size, no bathtub attached (sadly), no lovely colors on the wall.  But when I close the door, turn on the hot water, and step inside, I am transported into a world that bears little resemblance to reality.

In the shower, there are no diapers to change, no children crying, no chores to do.   I have been fortunate in that I can almost always take a shower when someone else in on baby duty.  Thus, there is neither monitor in sight, nor timer to race before his nap is over.  It doesn’t matter how I look, no one is judging my shampooing technique or my choice to shave or not to shave.  Well, my husband may judge that later, but he wisely keeps his thoughts to himself.

In the shower, my worries don’t disappear, but they do feel lighter.  My head is clearer.  All the petty irritations wash away, and I’m left with either a wandering mind or time to focus on what really matters.  Most of my resolutions have been crafted in the shower, as well as solutions to problems large and small.

So much of my day is focused on caring for my son, my house, and the endless task list.  In the shower, I take care of only myself.  For those wonderful ten or fifteen minutes, I am not a wife, a mother, a teacher, a friend, or anything but just ME.  I rinse away all reminders that I spend so much time cleaning bottoms and noses and sticky fingers, I treat myself to fabulous products (I love Bumble & Bumble and Bed Head), I stand in the hot, hot water and just breathe.

The rest of my house is nice enough, and I’m working every day on organizing it, preparing for another member of the family… but there is nowhere quite like my favorite hiding place.