Friday, March 29, 2013

Privacy Shmivacy

I don't like shutting the bathroom door.

I grew up in a family of eight, and we shared one bathroom. There was no such thing as private time in there. While one kid showered, one kid used the toilet and two kids brushed their teeth and Dad was always lingering in the shadows to make sure the kid on the toilet only used one square of toilet paper.

These days, it's not like I try to pee in front of people, but I don't shut the door. It may be from my childhood, or because I don't want to be left out of the conversation, or sometimes I'm too lazy, but mostly it's because I feel claustrophobic being shut in a small room. My friends and roommates HATE this. 

Especially Summer, who grew up not being able to say the word fart.

Anyway, in my new apartment, there are too many doors for my liking. It's just me in here and there's doors on the office and my bedroom and the bathroom (which is inside of my bedroom). There are doors on my closets. I don't want any of the doors. I hate them. I wanted to take them all off of their hinges but decided I better leave the bedroom door on, in case I have guests and they want privacy. (But why? I don't understand privacy or people who need it. But: I'm a good hostess. And so my guests can shut my bedroom door if they are sleeping over and I give them my room or if they need to use the bathroom.)

I'm just happy I don't have a bathroom door to not shut anymore. Which is exactly how I like it.

Tonight Summer came over. We were talking and she went into the bathroom to use it. I followed her and asked her opinion about something. She goes, "I don't know. I'm BUSY."

I was like, "Oops. Sorry. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is so US." And then I left her alone.

We're not THAT close.

12 comments:

Jessica said...

Our bathroom, in our bedroom...I don't like to shut the door either. I feel like if I have my bedroom door shut, that's enough privacy. But if my husband walks into the bedroom and I'm in the bathroom, he gets all weirded out and irritated. This is after 17 years of marriage, but I think it's kinda good to keep yourself looking the best way possible in your husbands eyes, and crouching on a toilet is not the most attractive spot you can be.

A Lady Reveals Nothing said...

True, true. But what if he's having fun out there and you don't want to be left out?

A Lady Reveals Nothing said...

He doesn't HAVE to stand in the doorway.

My parents and I never shut the door in our tiny little cabin. But everybody leaves everybody alone in there and so far nobody has seen anybody and yet there can still be talking.

Is that weird??

Jenny said...

Yes. Yes it is. But this is coming from someone who refused to pee in a public stall for about eight years because my first day of school a girl looked down at me from the neighboring stall...
You're probably one of those phone-toileters too! For shame!

Jessica said...

When I leave the room I tell everyone to stop having fun until I come back ;) I don't like missing anything either, but he really hates hearing me pee, so it's not even the seeing me he doesn't like. He installed a fan in our bathroom that was super industrial fan - it sounded like an airplane taking off. I think I started keeping the door open when I had babies and I needed to hear what they were doing. That fan - I had to make him take it out because it was attached to the light so I would have to sit in the dark and pee and I also have the need to read something, even if I'm only peeing for 20 seconds. I get bored easily. Anyhow. I haven't thought about that fan in years.

Jessica said...

And in response to the Is that weird? question, you and your parents not closing the door ever. I'm still mulling that over. I think it's weird, the thought of that happening with any member of my family (parents, siblings). We're pretty private. But if it's not weird to you, than it's not weird to you! but yeah I think it's weird :)

Jessica said...

Oh and it's not just hearing me pee that my husband dislikes, he's just really private in general and doesn't like much talk about bodily functions etc. Like if I'm crampy and cranky and he's like, what's your problem? and I say - my problem is I'm... and he'll be like - Don't tell me! I don't want to hear details. And then I'll proceed to give him details about whats going on and it really irritates him :)
Okay, I'm stopping rambling now.

Chris said...

I have to agree with Jessica. What if someone like her and her husband stayed at your apt.? I'm proud of you for leaving the bedroom door on. And just so you know, you and Larry are on opposite sides of the universe. But you probably already figured that out. And I want a tour!!!

luvdoctorlibbie said...

We had eight kids in my family, two of which were boys who got pee all over the seat. One of my sisters hates shutting the door, wiping the seat, and going to the bathroom with her clothes on, so when I visit my parents I often get to see her squatting over the toilet naked .

Mom said...

Just to give you a better visual...yes we may leave the door open at times, but we have designed our bathroom so that the toilet is tucked out of sight of the door. If someone is in there, you know it, because if they are not in the room you are in, they are in there. And if you are unsure you just say, "Is anybody in there?" We also soundproofed the walls, so if you do shut the door, and we actually do sometimes, there is no sounds escaping. Now smells...that is another story. I have been known to clear the house. I come out and everyone is out on the deck.

Megs said...

Like Summer, I was forbidden from saying fart as a child. I still can't really say THAT word. I am also pretty firmly in the PRIVACY camp. And I came from a family of all girls. You would think that we would not have been so uptight about it.

Abby said...

Funny reading this - my husband and I were at a friend's house recently with a bunch of other couples and we were the only couple that never ever closes the bathroom door. Everyone else was railing against it, things like 'when you're married 30 years you want to leave somethings unseen', etc., etc., but we just smiled at each other. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I also pee in front of my girlfriends, that way there's no break in conversation. Very important.

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