Battleground: Shower

When Ben and I first got married, we thought it was hilarious to play pranks on each other in the shower. I'm sure it had a lot to do with being so young and immature. What can I say? We did a lot of growing up together.

It started out pretty simple. One of us would stand on the toilet and peek over the shower curtain at the showeree and stare like a creepy stalker. Then gales of laughter would ensue when the person in the shower would startle or let out a squeak of surprise. It didn't take long before the one in the shower would splash water on the peeper.

This quickly escalated into the one outside the shower filling a cup with cold water and pouring it on the one taking the shower and running away cackling. Of course, while it was funny to play the prank, it was near infuriating the be the target.

I think the pranks stopped shortly after this next story:

I was taking my shower and at the moment before Ben attacked, I had been closing my eyes, turned toward the shower head, washing my face. When I finished and opened my eyes, there was a hand reaching around the shower curtain at me. I screamed and skittered backward. Well, I tried to skitter backward, but slipped and started to fall. Two strong hands gripped me, slippery as I was and steadied me. Next thing I knew, my husband had come into the shower completely clothed and hugged my shaking, dripping wet body. He was laughing mainly out of surprise over my reaction as he apologized several times. I was quick to tell him that he was getting wet standing in the shower with me. He said he didn't care. Even if I had known it before, my husband's love and concern for me and my safety was reinforced in my mind at that moment.

As I've said, the pranks pretty much stopped at that moment. The creepy peeping and general silliness still show up occasionally. We're both okay with that.

Though, Ben's concern for his showering wife hasn't abated over the years.

This morning, I was just about to get in the shower when I beheld a spider racing madly around the bathtub, trying to get away from the steaming water. Pathetically, it tried to hide under one of the kids' rubber ducks, only to realize that it was too big to escape that way... too big. It's long legs were sticking out from the bottom of the duck, disturbingly.

I did the reasonable thing: I screamed, stark naked and completely safe from the spider who was unable to escape up the slippery tub walls. I vaguely remember trying to cover my exposed body.. like the spider was looking or something. Well, it probably was, but in more of a "AAAGH! A NAKED GIANT! RUN AWAAAAY!" kind of way. That would be scary to anyone, really.

Ben came to my rescue, of course and used the shower attachment to wash the spider down the drain. I thought it was too big to fit, but Ben got it down eventually.

Love: reinforced.

Shower trust: bruised, but mend-able.

Ben said the kids even knew what was going on. "Mom must have found a spider in the shower."

I really don't scream very often.