Mom and Dad were both stubborn at times and one night they locked horns. It wasn’t a fight actually; it was more like two Sumo wrestlers seeing who would move first. It was like water and rock, seeing who would wear down and yield.

Dad was upset that Mom had walked into the bathroom while he was still inside. He got into a huff because she didn’t leave right away, but quickly forgot about it all. A little while later, he walked in on her while she was in the bathroom.

That started it all. Mom asked him to leave and he wasn’t ready to leave. Mom exploded “I can’t come into the bathroom while you’re in here, but it’s okay for you to come in while I’m in here?”

Dad said, “I can be in here if I want to.”

 

“If I can’t be in here while you’re in here, you need to get out!” Mom exclaimed.

Dad countered, “I’m not leaving until you do.”

Dad refused. Mom got her back up and she refused to leave; stalemate.

Mom called to us kids, “Kids, get me a pillow and a blanket.” Mom had laid claim to the bathtub. Mom was short enough to fit the tub. (It would have been hard for Dad who was just over six foot to be comfortable in the tub.) She settled in for the night.

Dad decided to sleep on the floor. He was too stubborn to call for a pillow and used the bathroom rugs and a few towels for his bedding.

This is the kicker, it was Saturday night and Mom was an intelligent woman. She knew that Dad would not miss church in the morning. He might stay in the bathroom to shave and brush his teeth, but he would leave the bathroom first to eat breakfast before making the Sunday morning trek. She was going too, but she could go without breakfast if need be.

Dad did leave the bathroom first and all it accomplished was that they were both stiff and sore that Sunday.

I was glad that I didn’t have to use the restroom that night. You know what they say, “Two’s company, but three’s a crowd.”

***<>***

When Mom and Dad were first married and barely out of their honey moon, they lived in a small rental house above Indian Head Pennsylvania. The owners of the house and next door neighbors were an elderly couple. The neighbors were kindly to them.

One day, Mom said that she and Dad had started a water fight, throwing water from glasses, pitchers, and buckets at each other. They were squealing and yelling at each other on good, clean fun. They chased each other around the house and yard.

The neighbors saw them running after each other and heard them yelling, squealing, and hollering and were about to call the police thinking that someone was being hurt, when they saw Mom and Dad collapse in each other’s arms on the lawn laughing. Both were soaked to the skin, but both were wonderfully in love.