September 23

We have lived in the same house for just over 25 years. We moved in when our fifth child was an infant and then added our last child eighteen months later. So this old house has seen lots and lots of life.

Like most families, our kitchen was the center of most daily activity and, I might add, most of the mess. I never could get on top of keeping the microwave and fridge and stove top and floor clean. I remember feeling terribly embarrassed one time when I had to call a repairman and he reminded me if I would just keep the particular appliance cleaner it would last longer. With six kids and home schooling, it was impossible. Grrrrrrrr.

But another bee hive of activity in our house was the master bathroom. It wasn’t and still isn’t very large, but it is larger than the kids bath, which was very small and definitely not big enough for more than one or two at a time. So our kids gravitated to our bathroom for the extra space. And it was mostly our four girls who wandered down the hall. They needed help with pigtails and ponytails and braids and curls. I kept all the rubber bands, bobby pins, hair clips, hair ribbons and rollers in my bathroom since I was the resident beautician.

As the girls became teens they continued to come to our bathroom for before school and before church beautification. I still helped with hairstyles and approved or disapproved clothing choices. The full length mirror on the door and the wall mirror over the double sink gave them lots of viewing space.

And in those hours of sharing the bathroom, my girls and I also shared a lot of life. With three or four hairdryers going at once, hot rollers, curling irons and straighteners warming up on the side, we talked about a host of topics, mostly related to how we all looked, but also about whatever else popped into their heads. Our bathroom was witness to many momentous events, including the prep times for dates, ballgames, proms and finally weddings. Just three short years ago my girls and I all got ready for Rebecca’s wedding in that bathroom. We took bunches of photos in that small narrow space.

Last weekend two of my girls were home to visit. We went to a ballgame, did a little shopping and a lot of talking and fixed some favorite meals in the kitchen. But my highlight of the weekend was getting ready for church. The three of us were back in the same bathroom with three hairdryers going at once. For a few minutes that morning we were like we had been when we all still lived at the same address. It was as if they were mine again. For a few fleeting moments I felt like I was mom again with my girls at my side doing what we’d always done. Together we re-entered a memory of a time that is no more. And it brought me great joy and delight.