Our tub has been sitting in the laundry room for a year now. Yes, the same tub in the laundry room that housed our baby chicks until they were big enough to move into the barn and proceed to burn it to the ground! The same tub that held up all my starter veggies that ended up dying because my garden burned up with the barn! Yes, that tub. That beautiful, cast iron, claw foot tub that we have soaked away the worries and the pain of the day in. The tub that echoed with laughter as it washed away the dirt from chubby baby necks and squiggly toes. The tub that overflowed with fun and water as rambunctious kids and bathing dogs frolicked and played.
That tub has monumental history as do all childhood tubs where love and laughter abound. I know that 'things' are just 'things', but they are the stuff of memories. Upon returning to my childhood home a few years ago, the bathroom, which was still the same by the way, brought back a flood of happy memories as I thought of all the times my sister and I shared that tub as little girls.
Soon, our memory maker tub will be returning to it's rightful position after a year long hiatus, with a fresh coat of enamel and shiny new faucet. Granted, there will be no echoing of little children laughing and splashing but I know that I'm ready for a good long soak and one day . . . oh yes, one day there will be grandchildren.
