The women in my family have a saying. At least four generations have been caught up by the idea, so it’s definitely a thing. “Warm, sudsy water cures all”. Yep, this is whipped out any time someone has a headache, the ‘flu, is in the throes of grief–or when there are dishes to be done. Especially that last one. (This is 2012, so the men aren’t immune from being roped into doing the after-meal washing up, either.) It’s often thrown around with more than a bit of sarcasm by the conscripted scrubbers; yet, when I think about it, there’s more than a bit of truth contained beneath the ruse.

I hate doing dishes, especially by hand. I have an enviable talent for escaping that chore, at least during family get-togethers. The warm, sudsy water that I’m talking about is a bath or shower. For as long as I can remember,  I’ve used it as a refuge during bad illnesses or horrible bouts of grief or intense boredom. Maybe its a panacea, but I swear that it works. It works even better as a vessel for creative brainstorming. I’ve come up with complete outlines for short stories, entire chunks of dialogue, business plans. I don’t dare step into the bathtub without having a pen and sheets of paper nearby. If I’ve hit a block, all I have to do is sink into the warm water and, boom, everything clears up within minutes. Instant rush of creativity, good creativity. The kind that results in usable ideas.

I was in the shower for nine minutes this afternoon. Before I had time to reach for the towel, I came up with three new ideas. Three. How is that possible? Because….warm, sudsy water cures all. Including creative constipation. Or should I write “creative dry rot”? That sounds less gross but more serpentine. Egad. I can’t decide. Maybe I need to take another shower. Or do the dishes.*

Today's Shower Ideas

*Hahahahaha.