Soon after we became a couple, Nancy, not shy about anything, asked if I had germ phobia, a pathological fear of contamination and germs. I curiously asked why; "because you take the longest showers!" Although I never thought much about it, I realized she probably was right but it wasn't because of an obsession with dirt.
Growing up, many if not most apartments simply didn't have bath tubs or showers. As a child, I vividly remember sitting on the edge of the kitchen sink, being washed by mom. She used a pan with heated water to remove Ivory soap from my hair. Adolescence wasn't defined by age or maturity but when the sink could no longer accommodate us. That's when we graduated to self-bathing with a washcloth while standing.
Weekends were special. Every Saturday my friends and I would meet at the bath house on North Bennet street. A nickel got you a bar of soap, a towel and a shower. It became social and we made it fun, being mischievous, snapping towels, swapping stories; boys simply being boys.
Best of all, we didn't see it as a hardship. It was simply the way it was and we did what we needed to do. I guess the real test came with time. Looking back always brings big smiles.
I always take long and frequent showers, because I can.