A mom's sanctuary

A mom deserves a sanctuary in her home that is just hers. Maybe for some moms it would be their own personally-designed kitchen. For others, perhaps, a sunroom filled with beautiful plants and cushy furniture to lounge in and read a novel. For a limited few, maybe even the laundry room.

For me, however, my sanctuary would be my own luxurious bathroom. I don't mean a "master bath" that you have to share with your husband, either, that doesn't count. I mean my OWN bath room with all my OWN things in it.

This would be a sanctuary that I could retreat to when I needed peace, solitude and pure relaxation. It would be untouchable to anyone who is under 5 feet tall or anyone who is male. It would be mine alone and no others. I could go there in the early morning to get ready for the day ... by myself, in a serene environment, and I could go there in the evening for a bubble bath or long, hot shower, whatever I chose.

In my retreat, there'd always be plenty of clean, fluffy towels. There wouldn't be five sopping wet ones sharing one measly towel rack and two more half-soggy ones clumped up by the door. The hand towel would always be hanging on the towel ring, instead of heaped behind the toilet or thrown aimlessly out in the hallway. The hand towel wouldn't have toothpaste smeared on it or just been used to wipe up drops of spilled nail polish. There wouldn't be six wash cloths balled up in various locations in the shower and the bath mat wouldn't need ringing out after three continuous showers.

In my sanctuary, the bathtub would be surrounded with candles, and have specialty bubble baths at arm's reach. There wouldn't be a collection of beach Barbies and rubber fish lining the tub edges, each falling into the tub when I stepped in to take a shower. The bar of soap would always sit in the soap holder in my bathtub, not lay in the drain, mushy and melting away to nothing. My bathtub would never show a ring of dirt or have sand gracing the bottom, and the shower curtain would never be soaked from being lazily draped inside the tub during a shower.

On my bathroom counter would sit pretty decorations and fancy lotions arranged nicely in a fancy basket. It wouldn't be cluttered with two hair brushes, a comb, 17 variously-colored pony tail holders and 11 hair clips.

There wouldn't be multiple bottles of hair spray, detangler and gel scattered about, nor would there be an assortment of people's toothbrushes lying sideways in small, wet puddles. The hand soap dispenser would never be black from dirty hands or be tipped over oozing soap all down the cabinet.

My bathroom sink and chrome faucet would glisten and shine, not be plastered with dried toothpaste spatter and pink mouthwash. There wouldn't be pieces of little girls' fine hair stuck in the dried toothpaste mixture, making me gross out every time I wash my hands. Tiny little toy dogs wouldn't be shoved down deep in the drain, and the sink handle would never be sticky from who knows what.

In my sanctuary, the toilet would always be flushed and the toilet paper roll always full. There wouldn't be dirty clothes overflowing out of the closet and if something was dropped on the floor, it would be immediately picked up and put away. The trash would actually be IN the trash can and not gracing the outside, and would be taken out once it was full. The floors would consist of some of the finest tile the local home improvement store provides, not 15-year old carpet that I'm sure disguises a whole host of mold from being drenched over the years.

When I locked the bathroom door in my retreat, it would remain locked when I'm in there and no little person would be knocking on it, trying to yell through it or sliding notes under it saying "can I have a brownie?" My nightly shower, after the kids go to bed, would be uninterrupted and tranquil. No one would barge in to go potty, even though they just went 10 minutes ago, nor would they pop in to ask what they should wear the next morning or what I might be making for lunch the next day.

I really don't ask for much. I don't get massages or regular pedicures or facials. I hardly shop for myself, rarely have a night out alone with girlfriends, or ever go to the gym alone. I'm not asking for a trip to a spa in Jamaica or even a day away to the mall. I just want a few minutes alone, in the privacy of my own luxurious sanctuary.

Every mom deserves one.