Bring on the Bubbles

It was a brutal pilates class this morning!   I'm sure anybody peering through the windows must have wondered why everyone in the class was bright red and sweating while standing on one leg and holding both arms in the air in the same position as Superman when he flies away.  Well, it might have looked easy but we were balancing the entire weight of our core and body on one foot, and it was more difficult than it sounds (or looked).  Did I mention that we were also leaning waaaay over to the side?  After class I rushed around and got most of my errands done, and my reward this afternoon is going to be a nice long soak in a bubbly bath.

I can hardly wait!  There is nothing more relaxing than spending time in a soothing, scented bath.  Showers have their place in the world, but to me they are more businesslike.  I take showers in the morning, or after exercise class if I have to go out again.  Baths take longer, and often involve reading a book.  In the evening there may be a glass of wine floating gently in the background.   Candles may be lit, and I may even listen to Frank Sinatra in the background.  Today, I'm planning on lavender bubble bath and lots of epsom salts because otherwise I'm going to be very stiff and sore tomorrow at weightlifting.  I'm very lucky because our bathtub is quite deep and I'm short, so I can sink back and basically submerge 90% of my body underwater.  To me there is nothing more luxurious than the time spent indulging in a bath.

Our dog, Sammy, died of old age last spring.  He was my faithful companion whether I took a bath or a shower.  He curled up on my discarded clothes and waited patiently for me to finish.  His big brown eyes made it abundantly clear that he thought getting my fur wet on a regular basis was most undoglike, but I was forgiven for my foolishness.  I miss him every time I get into the bathtub because we used to have some amazing conversations.  Of course, his bath time was a completely different process.  Sammy was only 21 lbs so we could wash him in our laundry tub.  He would stand patiently while we lathered him, and tolerate the rinse process, but as soon as we lifted him down from the sink he would shake his entire body and be sure to soak us completely.  When we took him outside to dry off, he would run around the backyard in circles and roll in the dirt until his fur was dry, and he smelled like a dog and not like a flower.