Now If I Could Only Think Of A Good Title

Show of hands, how many of you have a double sink in your bathroom? (You really don’t have to raise your hand, but if you did, know that I appreciate it.)

When we bought the house we currently live in, I was so excited to have double sinks in our bathroom. We’d lived for six, count ‘em, six whole years of marriage and had to share a sink in the mornings while we were getting ready. It was a travesty that I was glad to remedy.

(With all the adjustments of marriage, no one ever tells you that your entire morning routine has to change because you must now share a sink and bathroom with someone else who is getting ready at the same time as you. And having shared with siblings doesn’t count, because you can yell and lock them out of the bathroom. That doesn’t go over so well with your spouse.)

We quickly decided which sink was “his” and which was “mine.” The placement of the toothbrushes took a while to figure out, because, well, they go next to the sink. And when you have two sinks, do you get two toothbrush holders? Do you use one holder and put them somewhere in the middle? It was a question I’d never had to answer before.

I found out quickly that “my” sink was being used more than “his” sink was. And it wasn’t because I spent so much time in the bathroom. It’s because he was using “my” sink as well as “his.”

So we had a little talk about the whole purpose of having a double sink. Which is, I don’t have to wipe out whiskers every time I go to brush my teeth. And he doesn’t have to get grossed out about long strands of brown hair in his.

And the reason he uses “my” sink all the time? Because he doesn’t have a towel rack by his sink.

First of all, what builder builds a house with two sinks and only one towel rack? Secondly, seriously? You use my sink because there’s a towel rack by it? Are your arms broken so that you can’t reach over and grab it? And third, you chose that sink, the one without the towel rack. You should’ve foreseen that problem. (In case you hadn’t noticed, mercy isn’t one of my strong suits.)

That was not long after we moved in, five years ago. And for the life of me, I cannot put my finger on why I still have not purchased a towel rack for “his” sink.

Oh, it’s been on the list. But you know how it is when you go to one of those giant home improvement stores. Dirt! Wood! Light bulbs! Tools You’ll Never Use But Must Play With! The list usually gets left behind (I KNOW!) or I forget to add it to the new list and stand in the check-out line thinking I’ve forgotten something. I might remember it as I’m loading the stuff in the car, and by that time I refuse to get sucked back into the home improvement vortex. “I’ll get it next time,” I tell myself. For the last five years.

It comes up in conversation now and again. And Husband tells me he’d be happy to exclusively use his own sink as soon as he has a towel rack. Or he offers to trade, which we know would not work, as we tried to switch sides of the bed once. That lasted for two whole nights in which neither of us got any sleep. We are creatures of habit, if nothing else.

Which makes me wonder if I bought a towel rack for “his” sink after five years, would it really make a difference? I guess we could try it and see. Maybe I’ll go re-write it on my list.

(Read more about towel issues here.)