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Listen to Lew and Darcy’s story as you read it (below).
It was a Saturday, and Lew’s shower turned into a quiet, cold war. The battlefield was their bathroom – more specifically their bathtub.
He stood in the tub, the lukewarm spray from the shower head doing little to soothe his rising irritation. The culprit? Darcy’s latest “improvement.”
He glared at the floor of the tub. It was no longer the pristine white porcelain he’d known for 37 years. Now, it was a piece of modern art — or what Darcy called art. She had placed an old, faded rug on the tub floor and, with some kind of paint, added a whimsical, zigzagging trail of blue and green footprints.
It was supposed to be a non-slip mat, a masterpiece of form and function. Lew just saw a future of mildew and missteps.
“A disaster,” he grumbled, soaping up his arms. The rug felt lumpy and uneven under his feet. He felt less stable, not more. Every time he shifted his weight, a little puddle of water sloshed around the edges. It didn’t look like a piece of art. It was a swamp.
Just yesterday, Darcy had been so proud. “It’s about making things beautiful, Lew,” she said, holding up the finished piece with a flourish. “Why should safety be ugly?”
Lew just sighed. He loved Darcy, but her “creative solutions” often caused more problems than they solved.
He finished his shower and stepped out, carefully toweling off his feet. As he dried off, he noticed something. The rug, as strange as it felt, actually had some grip. He realized he hadn’t had to brace himself against the wall as much as usual. His left knee, the one that always ached, felt a little better. He stared at the colorful footprints, which prompted a creative idea of his own.
Later that afternoon, Lew found Darcy in the garage, her hands covered in paint, working on a birdhouse that looked suspiciously like a miniature Victorian mansion.
“You know,” he said, leaning against the doorframe, trying to sound casual, “that tub mat of yours … it’s not as bad as I thought.”
Darcy’s head snapped up, a bright streak of fuchsia on her forehead. “Oh, really?” she said, a playful smile on her face. “You mean it’s not a complete and utter disaster?”
Lew let a small grin escape. “Not a complete one,” he conceded. “But, If we’re going to be a little more … stable in there, maybe we should go all in.”
Darcy put down her paintbrush. “What do you mean?”
“I’m thinking of adding a couple of grab bars. One for getting in, one for getting out. I saw some online that come in a bunch of colors.” He paused for a moment and then added, “Maybe we can find some that match those footprints you painted.”
Darcy’s face lit up. She dropped her paintbrush and wrapped her arms, spattered with fuchsia, around him.
A week later, Lew was back in the bathroom, but, this time, he was armed with a drill and a level. He had found a pair of grab bars online in a deep, cobalt blue—the exact shade of the footprints on the rug.
He carefully marked the spots, drilling through the tile with a steady hand. Darcy hovered nearby, offering advice that was (sometimes) helpful.
“Maybe a little lower, Lew? I’m not five foot six anymore,” she pointed out.
He grunted approval, focusing on the task. Soon, the first bar was mounted, strong and secure. He did the same for the second, and, when he stepped back, he felt a sense of pride.
The bars were functional, yes, but they also complemented the strange, whimsical art project on the tub floor. It wasn’t just a random piece of safety equipment. It was part of the whole picture.
Lew took his next shower with a new sense of confidence. He stepped onto the bumpy, colorful mat, his feet finding their grip. As he soaped up, he reached out and grabbed the new blue bar. It felt solid, a steady anchor in the swirling water. He could move around with ease. The little ache in his knee was barely a distraction..
When he looked down at the floor, he no longer saw a swamp. He saw an island of comfort, a safe haven that he and Darcy had built together. The footprints, once an irritant, now looked like a cheerful path leading him safely through his day.
He may have been a little lost at first, but, with Darcy’s creative spirit and his own practical mind, they had found their footing – at least in the bathtub.
Also hear and read this “parent story” from 2024:
Go to “Fred’s Countdown to Closure (Episode 3 of 5)”
Age: Our greatest asset!
Jim Hasse, ABC, GCDF retired, author of “52 Shades of Graying”
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I have to agree with Lew in this story. A rug piece in the shower may be pretty, but it’s no substitute for something like Amazon’s Linoows Bathtub and Shower Mat, which doesn’t slip or mildew.
It uses suction cups on the bottom to form a strong grip with the shower or bath floor. The top has a bubble design rather than a subtle texture, which provides a more bumpy but still slip-resistant surface.
I like this mat because it has a custom indentation to accommodate for the shower or bath drain, so there’s no water pooling or blockage.
* What steps have you taken to improve the accessibility and safety of your home?