A Bathroom All to Myself

For the past last four years I have been boasting that having separate bathrooms is one secret to having a healthy relationship. Your own bathroom provides you with a personal space where you are rarely bothered, and you can have control over the organization and decoration. If you want to leave the curling iron out, or have a variety of hair products and lotions scattered on the counter, nobody really complains until the company comes over. This prevents countless disagreements about counter space and our mismatched tolerance of messiness.

This all came to a halt when we moved into our new house and shut one bathroom down for remodeling. All of a sudden I found myself elbowing past my fiance to get to my hairbrush. We had to take turns in front of the mirror and share spaces for hot curling irons and shaving tools. I even had to learn to put the cap on the toothpaste.

This week my fiance moved out of the bathroom. He packed up his toothbrush, emptied his shelf, snatched up his magazine and claimed the newly remodeled one down the hall. Now I have all the space to stretch out and apply body lotions, and there is room in front of the mirror pluck my eyebrows.

Only now, its too quiet in there. It lacks the shared morning grunts and groans, and it feels empty without another body to squeeze past. Staring at the one face in the mirror, I realized... I am kind of lonely in there.