87 Years Old and Never A Single Shower???

Years ago when my grandmother was still alive, I went to visit her in her town of Corwith, Iowa. I went in the one day to take a shower and to my surprise..no shower. She laughed, but she also always used a tub. She was in her 80's at the time too.

I'm with her -- showers suck.  It's amazing how many times I've had someone reject a home because there was no tub in the master bath, and I offer no retort.  No bathtub?  No deal!

That's pretty cool.  My Grandmother won't take a bath -- she grew up without indoor plumbing and swore that the minute she had a shower in her house she'd never use a tub again! 

My Great Aunt Mary will be 101 next week.    She remembers Outhouses and Sears Roebuck Catalogs for toilet paper.    Not sure what her stance is on showers... I will ask her.

Very interesting! My Grandma's house only had a bath. As a kid, when I'd visit her in the summer, I only had to take a bath on Saturday nights.

And I love the picture of the ball-and-claw bathtub.

Sheila-  I wonder when showers made it into the new home construction routine? I also remember my Grandama's house with just a tub. It was a 1930's house.

Hi Sheila... there is something so civilized in what you describe.  I like it!

If I remember correctly my grandmother was the same way until she was forced into a retirement home with Alzheimers, then that all changed. (Really kind of sad if you ask me)

Our tub was a metal one in the middle of the kitchen with hot water off the stove.  Then, when the swimming pooll came to town, it was time for my first shower, before getting into the pool.  Then school PE classes and the military.

Showers are best for clean.  Tubs are best for soaking.  Love a good hot soak in a tub.

It's nice that your mother can "have it her way" all her life.

Just did a home inspection last week or so that the home didn't have a single tub.  Found it kind of odd!

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Hello Sheila and this is unbelievable and I think that baths are better for you myself, more relaxing etc. Your post has been "Highlighted/ Featured" at one of my favorite groups ...

EXPRESS WITH WORDS AT ACTIVERAIN

Vegas Bob ;-)

Sheila, I have a big old Jacuzzi that I love to soak in.  I use the shower when I'm in a hurry, but the tub with the bubbles and jets is really relaxing. 

Sheila, There is something relaxing about taking a bath, that's a luxury for me!  Your kitty pictures are beautiful.

That is so cool. I would think for someone elderly it would be harder to get in and out of though. I guess in her times she wasn't as rushed as we are today. Sometimes I am in and out in 3 minutes!

Sheila, the house I grew up in had a clawfoot tub and no shower. The house was built in 1910. When I was a little girl, my mother made me keep the bathroom door open because she was afraid I would drown, after all, it was a deep tub and I was a little kid. We never had the luxury of a shower and my mother lived in that house until 2006. Had she lived, she would have been 85 years old.

I guess I never realized how lucky I was to always have the option, bathtub or shower. I lived in many places after I got married and never gave it a second thought about how much luckier I was just because I could have one or the other. My mother and father lived until the day they died only having one bathroom and one clawfoot tub. Also, the bathroom did not have any heat vents or even a radiator to keep warm. When it came to taking baths, none of us spent a long time in it because it seemed to take forever to fill up the tub and it didn't take long for the water to get cold. In addition, our bathroom was in the kitchen and during the cold winter months, my mother used to bake something in the oven to keep the kitchen warm for us while we took baths. I came from a family of seven, so today, it would seem like a challenge or an inconvenience, but when I didn't know any better, or had anything else to compare it to, it didn't matter. So I guess, my mother was a lot like yours, she didn't complain and was thankful for what she had!