In a previous iteration of myself, I started cleaning houses for some extra cash. As with how things often go... since I have integrity & morals... my side gig turned into this flourishing little business. Word spread amongst friends, and before long I was cleaning some of the nicest houses in town.

I got a call to give a quote at a place tucked away by the river. When I arrived, I was in awe, as a broke girl would be at such a place. The woman gives me a tour of her luxurious home. There was a glass floor over a creek that ran underneath the house, 17 foot tall windows, 6,000 square feet of the hardest hardwood I'd ever walked on, a kitchen larger than my whole home, etc.

We reached the master bath. There was a large, stone tub carved out of a single granite boulder. The walls of it were about 6 inches thick and the mica sparkled in the sunlight bending through the trees that were outside the picture window next to the tub. The woman explained to me how she would like the bathroom cleaned and dismissed the tub with, "You don't have to really clean that, just keep it dusted."

Curious, I asked, "You don't use it?"

She went on to tell me that they can't use it. It makes the water cold faster than it can fill. (This is pre-ice-baths-are-trendy era, mind you) No one had thought to put a heated floor underneath of it, and in their climate controlled home, the rock stayed a cool and constant 68°F. In order to fix the issue, they would have to rip out the trees to get a crane in the yard and remove a portion of the roof to hoist the tub out of position. I cleaned that house many times & faithfully dusted that tub with pity for its beautiful, useless existence.

Many years later, I still think about the fact that dozens of people had to have been involved in building that house... and not a single one realized that a large stone in a cool room would stay cold for a very, very long time without intervention. Architects, fine craftsman, laborers, whoever it was that sold them the tub? Building in a climate where frigid weather is most definitely a consideration? All of them failed to realize something simple that ultimately rendered a major amenity of the home useless. Maybe someone had mentioned it but the concern was dismissed? Maybe it actually hadn't occurred to anyone because most people live out of tune with such things? Who knows...

I'm sure there's a moral or two in this little story if you're looking for one, but I just want to share some thoughts & remind anyone who took the time to read this: Don't forget to put a heated floor under your stone tub. 😉

#storytime #grownostr