January 11, 2011

Why I Clean the Bathtub

As I strive to keep our apartment clean, I have to remind myself at times why I do certain chores. Am I doing it because it's necessary for our well-being? Am I doing it to because I think it will make Nathan happy? In the case of some chores, I am really only doing them for my benefit. The main example of this is cleaning the bathtub. As I was scrubbing the tub tonight, I told Nathan,

"I never feel like this bathtub is truly clean. That's the bad thing about old apartments like this."

"That's funny," he said, "I never feel like it's truly dirty.

A simple fact I never fully realized until recently is that no one will be able to appreciate our clean bathtub except for me. You see, while I have perfect vision, Nathan can't see much of anything without his glasses. I might worry about a single hair or spot of soap on the floor of the tub, but Nathan wouldn't even know there was a floor if he weren't standing on it. While it's possible that we will have a guest who can see in the shower, all of the guests that have used our shower so far wear glasses.

There are plenty of things I do solely for Nathan's benefit, like attempting to neatly fold his underwear just how he likes it, but the cleanliness of the bathtub doesn't really matter that much to him. I clean it because it matters to me. I like to shower in a clean bathtub, and I want our guests to be able to shower in a clean bathtub, whether or not they can actually tell the difference.

2 comments:

  1. Yay, Amanda, for clean bathtubs! I'm like Nathan--I never feel mine is truly dirty. But, like Nathan, I cannot see hairs and spots of soap on the bathtub floor once I take my glasses off. But I guess it's good to know they're not there anyway! Thanks for taking care of us guests, even when we're incapable of appreciating it. :)

    word verification: chamater
    Is that someone who sings in the shower? Or a kind of bathroom tissue?

    ReplyDelete
  2. So true that we vision-impaired folks can't see the tub! We both wear contacts/glasses and I always think it looks good. Then later, I might stick my head in to grab something and I'll go yuck!

    ReplyDelete

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