The Blessings of a Small Bathroom

Last updated on: February 23, 2011 at 9:24 am by Nancy Qualls-Shehata

The Blessings of a Small Bathroom 2011-02-23T09:24:00-05:00 Nancy Qualls-Shehata

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Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim

Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah

Every morning, our family of three adults and five children has a pretty much set routine. If my husband went to pray fajr in the masjid, he’s out super early. Then I’m up next, then I rouse the children when it is time for school. Part of my job as majordomo is to make sure everyone gets a chance to use the bathroom without waiting a long time. I mean, c’mon, three boys with full bladders? Sometimes, if one stays in bed a few minutes longer, or another wakes up early, my well-planned flowchart (so to speak) is messed up and I have kids hopping up and down in the hallway banging on the door and yelling “Hurry UP!” Not the way I want to start my morning. We have a second bathroom that is available in a pinch, but let’s just say it is in serious need of a plumber’s attention so I try to avoid using it if at all possible. My father-in-law has his own bathroom downstairs, so overall we’re okay. As long as the routine doesn’t get scrambled.

The bathroom is functional. That’s about all you can say about it. Dated tile, dated vanity, a few cracks now appearing in the slippery white ceramic on the floor. Sometimes – okay, often – you have to lift the lid and mess with the thingy (insert unknown plumbing term here) to get the toilet to flush. It is also small; I can touch the walls front to back by extending my arms. So, am I complaining about this plain, small, heading towards worn-out bathroom? Not at all. On the contrary, I consider it a blessing.

Anyone who has had to use a port-a-potty at the fair or some sporting event knows how, um, disgusting it is to not have a modern bathroom facility. Worn though my bathroom may be, it has running water and is sanitary and not scary. (Does anyone else have nightmares about some monster living in the bottom of a port-a-potty? Anyone? No? Okay, it’s just me, I guess.) It does its job and other than the jiggle-the-handle issue, it works. So I am not complaining.

I watch home remodeling shows on TV all the time, and I’m amazed at couples who look at a home and reject it because the bathroom is not big enough. I think to myself, who in the world would want a bathroom the size of the Taj Mahal? Think of all the cleaning you’ll have to do. Unless that bathroom comes with a matron to clean it and hand out towels and little soaps shaped like butterflies, I’ll pass. This morning I had to scrub the floor in the bathroom and it took me about three minutes. Three minutes. That’s on my hands and knees with a pail of Pine-Sol and a scrubby sponge. If I had a palatial bathroom like I see on TV, I’d be in there all day, scrubbing and polishing and crying and sobbing…. No, I’ll pass on the big bathroom, thank you. I’m quite content with what I have.

I did not wake up this morning and think I would hold forth on the affection I have for my bathroom. I meant to scan the headlines of the newsites and read my FB, see what’s up, and compose something worldy and topical. But, honestly, I think it’s okay. Maybe reading about something as pedestrian as a bathroom will help someone remember to be thankful for the things we take for granted. Hmmm. And perhaps tomorrow I’ll write about my sink…..

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