Years ago, when I was beginning my married life, a friend who was already married for 20 years told me she thought there should be showers for people who had been married a long time so that they could get new towels and sheets. I now find myself at the same milestone and I finally realize what she meant. Many (if not all) of my towels were gifts when I got married almost 20 years ago. Although I have several sets of towels, I tend to wash them and put them right back out instead of some intricate system of swapping them out for the towels-in-waiting in the closet.
I am embarrassed to tell you this but why stop now considering everything else I reveal on this blog, but several years ago I bought some really expensive towels at an amazing sale. In true fashion, I put them away “for later”. Well later came about a year ago but I still waited until the beginning of this year to start using them. I washed them and put them out and my husband asked me for several weeks afterwards if the doctor had called with some dire test results for him after a check-up. Why else would his wife of 20 years be using new, luxurious towels that you actually could not see through?
After washing the new towels for the first time, I realized they had started fraying and there were many thread pulls that needed to be cut. Every time I’ve washed them since, I find the same thing.
Why are my almost 20-year-old run-of-the-mill towels in better shape than my brand new expensive ones? Why do I have to “trim” my brand new expensive towels before I hang them back up after washing?
If you get an invitation for my “I’ve Been Married 20 Years” shower, please go directly to the cheap linens section of your local discount store and buy me the cheapest pair of towels you can find. And I’ll use them for another 20 years. No trimming required.
