Rub a Dub Dub

I swear I would live in the water if some genius in a lab could figure out a way to make that work. There is something so calming about the water... being at the lake and sitting on a dock in the morning when the air is still a little crisp and the water is completely calm.

Or drifting on a pontoon all day, jumping in for a swim to cool off and maybe floating on a raft. Even if I can't be relaxing at the lake, in my mind soaking in a tub of hot water is the next best thing.

For a long time that wasn't an option because getting in and out of a regular tub wasn't the easiest thing to do. And calling someone to come over and help me get out of the tub was not a situation I could imagine being a pleasant one... so I didn't test my boundaries. (And all my friends are grateful, I'm sure.)

Then, at the end of last year, my case worker told me that because of my ill and handicap waiver I could have modifications made to my bathroom if I wanted them. Uhhmm... are you kidding? I said yes, and this beautiful new walk-in-bathtub was installed:

Yep, it's far and away the nicest feature of my home. No more stepping over a ledge to get into the shower; now I just open a door and close it behind me. I have safety rails and a built in seat. And I was going to finally get to soak in a bath!

Well, two out of three wasn't bad. There was a little glitch in the plan. That gorgeous new tub required more water than my hot water heater provided.

Oops.

Benny, the gentleman who installed my tub, tried to explain to me why it probably didn't work. He told me about the fact that a 40 gallon hot water heater should have two elements to heat the water, but mine only had one. So I was really only getting half the hot water that I should.

Then he went in for the kicker. He told me that it also probably didn't fill because I didn't take up as much room in the tub as most people so it took more water to fill it. And then I agreed to marry him. (Just kidding.)

He's smooth. And a liar. And I'm going to assume happily married if his wife falls for his rhetoric as easily as I did.

Either way, it did soften the blow when I realized a tub bath was not in my future. But honestly, I was so happy with being able to more safely get in and out of the shower it really didn't matter. And when I was sick this winter and had a picc line in my arm, maneuvering in this shower made it that much easier to stay in my home. It was one of those situations where I didn't realize how difficult it was for me to manage until I didn't have to anymore. Yea for the new tub!

Here's where the story gets even better (following in my line of thinking that I have everything I need when I need it). My two oldest siblings were at home with their families this spring and my sister Laura was talking about the new tub (yes, the tub is so cool that other people talk about it). My brother Jerry didn't know I had it and my dad made the comment that it was too bad I couldn't actually take a bath in it. I swear to God I was completely satisfied with the shower, but for my birthday those two siblings bought me a new water heater. I'm still overwhelmed by it.

And have I mentioned how much I love soaking in the water? 

I know sometimes it sounds like my life is one thing after another, and it kind of is. But it's also one good thing after another. Like bath tubs and water heaters and unexpected kindness. And long soaks in hot water. The good in life will always outweigh the difficult. You just have to remember to look for it.

And because Riley won't let me take photos of anything without him being the focus, here's one of him sitting on the bathroom rug waiting patiently for me to take a picture of him instead of the bathtub.

Who in the world taught him to be so vain?