I grew up in a house full of people. My mom left us when I was barely a toddler, so my dad whisked me and my older sister to live with our grandparents. My dad is the eldest in a brood of eleven, so with the grandparents plus house help, there were at least 16 to 17 people in the house.
From age 13 to maybe 20, I actually dreamed of living alone. As in ... alone. In high school, my imagined pad was composed of a sofa-bed, a stereo component, and a personal ref full of cola. It didn't occur to me that food and water were actually essential to life. At least I had a sofa-bed to accommodate people to drink coke with me. One room would suffice. My imagination didn't even get as far as a bathroom.
In college, I become more realistic and realized the value of furniture. So my imagined pad now has a Japanese-style living and dining room. The Japanese dining table was important because that meant that I wouldn't need any chairs. Oddly enough,I still didn't picture a bathroom.
After college, now being a woman of the world, my imagination drastically changed. I now had provisions for actual food preparation - a neat kitchen. It finally dawned on me that I would need a bathroom... and a bed, Guests would probably appreciate chairs and so I mentally filled that in too, along with bookshelves,closet,and some sort of space to wash things in.
And that's where the major snag happened.
Every human activity involves some sort of cleaning up after. We eat, we have to wash dishes, pots and pans. We wear clothes, we have to launder them. We have a room, we have to dust it. The doozy is having to clean a bathroom - a toilet, to be specific.
I would like to believe that one's biggest luxury is having a clean bathroom. Better than a shiny new car, better than diamonds. The diamonds I will get to use about five times in my life, tops. A bathroom is forever. And since this is the one place I do visit many many times in a day, its conditioning is of prime importance. Above all, cleanliness.
Even when we are not rich, we had the privilege of having a household help. I eat and, lo and behold, the dishes are clean for the next meal. I put my used clothes in the hamper and then they disappear and reappear all nice and pressed. I Have never once had to dunk a brush in a toilet and swish. It's like having magical elves around!
Now why would I want to let go of that? Living alone in my own, what was I thinking?
Oh maybe it was almost every twentysomething's dream. It sure was mine when I was that age.
What's yours?
12 comments:
Sigh... luxury
A self cleaning toilet perhaps?
I still want to be Batman if I grow up.
The biggest problem here is men, when you start living with one the dirt doubles, they NEVER clean anything after themselves. So the moral of the story is.....keep living alone!
xxxxxxxxxxx
ps, have you still had contact with your mum?
Yes I do, Trace. But she now lives in Minnesota so communication is slow and far between.
But whenever she comes here in the Phil. she stays with me in Manila.
xoxoxoxo
A clean bathroom is a luxury when you have boys in the house. Thank goodness for foam cleaners and bleach!
I alas wanted a house with a nice yard, with a big garden and lots of roses, flowers, and trees. I never thought about the actual house, I do enjoy my yard more than I do the actual house.
I also vote for a self-cleaning toilet....oh how I detest cleaning the bathroom~
Fi, Jann,
I am sure it will be the most saleable item in the market. Hahaha!
have a nice wekend,
xoxoxoxo
Blahhh!! Living with three boys/men the toilet never stays clean. Neither does the floor around it if ya know what I mean!!! Definately need some magical elves around here to wipe up behind them!!
Happy ironing Odette!!
Jen
Okay Ladies an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So you need an incentive to stop your males from hitting the floor walls shower curtain and even the ceiling of the bathroom. I found one once and gave it to one of my brothers as a Christmas present. My Grandmother was still alive at the time and said it was 20 years too late. However this is what it was. It was a game of toilet battleship.
On pieces of toilet paper are stamped pictures of destroyers, battleships and submarines. These are put floating in the water and the object is to sink them via your accuracy. Though there were hundreds in the kit it only lasted the weekend. I have 3 brothers and my Dad and Grandfathers were there too and you know men.
I suggest you get one of those stamp kits a row of toilet paper cut each sheet into four and stamp them with a Destroyer, A battleship, a sub and a friendly ship they are supposed to miss. With a little practice you men should shortly be able to hit the water in the bowl everytime. Say 18 or 20 years
Im weird ...but you already knew that. I love cleaning the toilet etc. I get great pleasure from going into a pit of a place and turning it around so it sparkles and shines:)
However I hate ironing and doing dishes, oh and cleaning the oven.
Sid you already are batman, a true superhero. I want to save the world when I grow up and protect everyone from bad things :)
love heaps
xoxoxoxoox
I love a clean bathroom but when I feel real bed and Steven cleans it...it is never to my standards lol! Jen...I understand you...now Billy is potty trained I am getting that problem lol!
xx
I would LOVE a bathroom that cleans itself! :) I agree with you~ I would so much rather have a clean (and pretty) bathroom than diamonds or a fancy car! :) My mom remembers when she was little, that at first they didn't even have an indoor bathroom! They had an outhouse! But this was in the late 1930's/ early 1940's, and now I think most people here in the U.S. do have bathrooms in their homes... but it does give me pause and remind me to thank God for my bathroom! :) I hope you had a good weekend!
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