Jokes and funny stuff

A Big question that begs an answer

By Meg ⋅ December 1, 2007 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Before entering the bathroom, do you knock?

I ask these questions — not sure what it means.  Therapy is needed for me or eventually for my kids, it is hard to say.  I just know that sometimes I become preoccupied with silly questions that drive me nuts.  Kind of like when you are trying to remember a name, it is right on the tip of your tongue yet just out of reach.  It feels like that.  Frustratingly preoccupying yet I am unable to let it go.  I “wonder” to the point of insanity.

So again I ask, Before entering the bathroom or any other room, do you always knock? I know the question seems obvious, of course we do.  Yet if I ask do you RSVP, most would say yes, but the truth is, it is a dying action.  I have posted about it before, how few individuals have the consideration to RSVP these days.  Another symptom of our microwave society becoming more and more selfish, focus on ourselves and no longer on each other.  Excuses galore.  Justification brewing and defending our rudeness. But, back to the knocking question.

Most say yes, they do knock.  Some individuals are close enough to have the open door policy, mates, roommates, family. What if your kids are in there? Do they deserve the respect of a knock? What age does it become our right to have a knock? Not everyone believes it is necessary or respectful.  Many really do not care.  Unfortunately,  I am not one of those.  I do not care who you are, what your relationship is to me, I expect a knock.

Our bath is two separate rooms, kind of.  One main room with sinks and shower, tub, and a little room with toilet and door you can close for privacy. So, is it ok to enter big room w/o knock, ‘cuz chances are little room door is closed?  What if I get claustrophobic, and I need little room door open?

Or how about the other day….. (Ok, brace yourself, many may feel I am sharing a little to much information is.) I got out of the shower, little heater going, room toasty warm, thinking about an article I read about a yoga. (As a yoga enthusiast and teacher this is not unusual.)  So I closed the little door to the toilet room, (what else can I call it) and went up into a headstand against the door.  Noting the feeling of the inversion, my breathing, the lack of pain in my back, the warmth of the room soaking in and relaxing my muscles as I challenge myself to stay inverted longer than usual.

And my husband walks in, no knock, well, cursory quick knock and then open the door before I could respond.  So he walks in, followed by a huge gust of freezing cold air, and the look on his upside-face (I am still in my inversion you see) is quite funny. He appears quite relaxed in spite of the funny look of shock. I, on the other hand, am not laughing.  I tumble down, muscles spasm from the blast of frigid 70 degree air invading my now 86 degree air, my soaking wet hair falling everywhere and yes, I am not clothed, unfortunately my towel is not as experienced in defying gravity as me and had fallen around my forehead.  He is amused, I am perturbed.

I will be the first to admit, it was probably a bit unexpected to find me unclothed in a headstand in the bathroom.  I also admit, it is his bathroom too, he did give a little knock, and he knew I was in the shower and not otherwise occupied.  But it disrupted my peaceful, reflective, moment and I was mad.  I had a great, spontaneous, all be it nude, sanctuary of peace going and it was instantly lost.  No, I should not be doing Yoga in the bathroom, yes I could have waited and clothed myself first, but life is full of spontaneous moments that we should embrace and enjoy.  This was one of mine, that ultimately has led me to the question, “what do other couples do?”

Lock each other out? Respect each others privacy and never interrupt? Share the intimate moments that take place in the “powder” room with each other? I need answers. I wonder.  My husband is pretty sure I am the only one doing nature girl headstands in the bathroom, I refuse to believe it.  There must be others out there like me, it is a huge world full of freaky, interesting, unique people.  I am an ordinary Joe.  I am not the first to discover the opportunities a warm, private bathroom provides. The peaceful atmosphere of a heated room and how it relaxes the muscles and adds new level of sensation to a yoga stretch. I am not the first to have been caught up in a thought and moved to take action immediately to test the thoughts and theories.  Is that not how we grow and learn?

My conclusion, you should knock, even if it is your house, your bathroom, your family.  You should knock. Regardless of age.  What if your intrusion stops the creation of a great thought or theory? Stops the progression toward solving a great problem. And besides,  What if someone is doing yoga on the other side of that door?  My husband says that nature girl yoga is the exact reason not to knock……………..