By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee
I decided to fill the old, porcelain bathtub at Grandma Alma's house with water. I wanted to take a bath; I was so hot. I had been playing hard outside with my cousins.
The tub began filling with cold water. I knew it was going to be hard to make myself sit down in it. It was going to take my breath away. I wished for hot water... at Grandma Alma's house, there was only cold water.
I never paid attention to the window behind the bathtub. I began undressing... laying my clothes neatly on the commode seat. I was being very careful to not let them touch the floor.
I put one foot over the side of the bathtub... oh my God, it was so cold! I didn't know if I could stand getting into the cold water... I wasn't so overheated that it felt that good!
I sat on the side of the old porcelain tub... both of my feet were in the water. I was taking deep breaths... I was going to sit down all at once in the cold water... oh, how I dreaded it!
My feet were freezing... I stood up. I almost stepped back out of the tub... but, I'd come too far. I knew if I could go ahead, just sit down... I could get used to the cold.
I lost my breath with a gasp... I began splashing cold water on my shoulders, my face. Might as well get it over with... I wanted to take a bath!
Looking back to that day... I can see I was too young to know to heat water in a pan to add to the cold water. I was eleven-twelve years old. The thought never entered my mind. Just as the thought never entered my mind to close the curtains on the window behind the bathtub.
I sat in the cold water... it felt good once I got past the initial shock. I began lathering up the bath cloth. I made it very soapy. I loved sudsy water; I loved the scent of bath soap.
I was daydreaming as I bathed... my eyes were closed. I heard a sound to my right, where the bathroom window was. I opened my eyes...
Staring into the window was a boy who was visiting, playing with my cousins! I cried out... my face felt very hot. He ran away...
I was so embarrassed! I didn't know how long he had stood there looking into the bathroom window. The spell was broken... I got out, toweled off, dressed. I knew I could never look that boy in the face again!
Time went by, the boy never spoke to me... nor I, to him. I was thankful. Every time I saw him... my face would get hot.
My life as a child was in turmoil constantly... other things quickly filled my mind until I never thought about it again.
That was one of the most embarrassing times of my young life. It was also, when I became aware of being seen through a window...
Shame on that boy!! You had a lot of nerve getting into that cold water! I remember going to camp with a church group one year. The girl's bath house didn't have hot water either. We all took cold showers! The boy's housing had roaches in it. Us girls thought we had the better deal. We couldn't deal with bugs! I bet that boy felt bad about being a "peeping Tom" once he got old enough to know better. He was probably embarrassed when he was older and realized that was not something he should have done. Love, Ms. Nancy
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