I Didn't Make It to the Bathroom

I walked into our master bedroom, where my wife was sitting propped up on our bed, with all our pillows behind her, watching American Idol on the TV. It had been a long, hectic day for both of us, and she looked like she needed a hug. So I walked toward the bed, and held my arms out toward her in that familiar "come hither" way that we both understand.

She scooted away from the pillows toward the edge of the bed, and just as she stepped onto the floor and was about to fall fully into my embrace, made a startling announcement.

"I didn't make it to the bathroom," she said.

I recoiled suddenly, pulling rudely away from the embrace we had just begun. I felt like there was now a grotesque dampness on my hands where they had started to touch her. I must have had quite a stunned look on my face as I began to carefully examine her clothes for signs of how she had so unfortunately soiled herself.

My mind raced -- what could have happened? She hasn't been feeling well lately, maybe she threw up on the floor leading into the bathroom. Maybe she had gotten a touch of food poisioning from something she ate, and didn't expect the sudden onslaught of diarrhea.

As I looked her over from head to toe, nothing was immediately apparent. By this time, she must have begun to realize that there was some sort of misunderstanding.

"So, what happened?" I asked, "Are you sick?"

"No, silly, I mean the bathroom downstairs!" she exclaimed.

The bathroom downstairs? Again, my mind was racing. Why was she trying to make it to the bathroom downstairs, when we had a perfectly good bathroom next to the master bedroom?

"I didn't get the cleaning done yet," she explained, probably now aware that I was somewhere else completely.

Ah yes, the cleaning. Now it all made perfect sense.

We have been remodeling our house for several months now (as long as we've owned it), and I need to apply caulk to the bathroom downstairs. But first, she was planning to clean it thoroughly, so that the caulk will stick to the walls, shower, and doorjams, rather than all the dust and dirt that have gathered there from all the other construction projects.

She had a very busy day, doing lots of cleaning, laundry, and countless other chores that she undertakes every day. Because of how busy she was, she didn't make it to cleaning the bathroom to prep it for the caulking.

Of course I felt silly for the misunderstanding, but decided that now more than ever, she needed a big hug, since it had been such a crazy, busy, tiring day.

It was quite enjoyable, hugging my clean, dry, and healthy wife.