A Household Word: Throwing in the Towel

By Carol Band


This morning, as I stepped out of the shower and went to grab a towel out of the bathroom closet, I discovered that, except for the few fancy washcloths that I save for special occasions (like if Queen Elizabeth ever needs to wash up at our house), the cupboard was bare. And so was I … wet, too. So I opened the door to the hallway, just a crack, and yelled for someone to bring me a towel.


This was not the first time that I had been left high and not-so-dry by members of my family, who seem to think that our bathroom is part of the Hilton hotel chain – complete with an endless supply of bath towels. Again, I hollered for someone to rescue me … no response.


Why is it that I can sit in my neighbor’s kitchen two doors away and my kids can hear me whisper that I joined Weight Watchers (and then share that information with the entire school bus stop), but they can’t hear me yelling my lungs out from the second-floor bathroom of our own house?


A more daring mom might have dashed naked through the hall and into her bedroom, but we are not a family that parades around the house in the buff – not since my son was 2 and observed, “Mommy bottom BIG!” I do know parents who are comfortable walking around naked in front of their children and, while I admire their uninhibited spirit, it’s not a mode that the Band family embraces.


I also don’t kiss my kids on the lips, although I’ve seen many parents plant a wet one right on their child’s mouth without causing any apparent psychological damage or catching the flu, but to me it just seems … well, icky.

Perhaps, though, if we were a tad less hung up, there would still be clean towels left in the linen closet. But, we are a modest people, so I unhooked the shower curtain, wrapped it around my naked self and went to hunt for a towel. It didn’t take long. On the way to the laundry room, I peered into my daughter’s bedroom and spied a terry cloth heaven. Fluffy white bath towels filled the room like clouds.


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