{"id":40385,"date":"2024-01-06T00:01:39","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T08:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbarafalconernewhall.com\/?p=40385"},"modified":"2026-06-05T12:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:56:00","slug":"widowed-a-bathroom-for-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/widowed-a-bathroom-for-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Widowed: A Bathroom for One"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"widowed-a-bathroom-for-one<\/a>
Widowed — a bathroom for one. Jon and I remodeled this bathroom back in 1989 when the kids were small. It’s due for another update, this time with just me in mind. Photo by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For years, our family of four got by with one small bathroom on the upstairs bedroom floor. We had access to a second bathroom on the main floor, but it was tiny and the shower leaked.<\/p>\n

Somehow, day after day, year after year, we squeezed in and out of that one main bathroom, all four of us.<\/p>\n

In time, the kids left home and four became two.<\/p>\n

Then Jon died three years ago,<\/a> and two became one.<\/p>\n

So it’s just me now. Me and our funky, old bathroom, with its grungy grout and its light fixture, once a trendy fashion statement, whose only message now is, “Two of my bulbs have burnt out.”<\/p>\n

\"widowed-a-bathroom-for-one<\/a>
Like many a midcentury bathroom, ours has a tub shower with an adjacent cupboard that is awkwardly deep and nearly useless — but it fills in the space leftover by the tub. Solution? An oversized medicine cabinet above the sink. Photo by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Widowed — A Bathroom for One<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Jon isn’t here to take care of me anymore. I’m taking care of me now, and I’m starting with a bathroom spa that’s mine, all mine<\/p>\n

That’s one of perks of being widowed — a bathroom for one and only one. I’ve got the bathroom to myself at last. I can decorate it any way I want. My husband is not here anymore. He has no opinions. He can’t insist on mustard yellow for the wall paint or a rainfall showerhead for the ceiling.<\/p>\n

\"widowed<\/a>
This globe bathroom light fixture was right on trend in 1989. I can’t reach the bulbs to replace them. Lightbulbs were Jon’s job. Photo by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I can have what I want. And here’s what I want to do:<\/p>\n