Budgeting for a Shower Curtain

Surviving on a firefighter's income in a bad economy, there are simply some things which we do not buy on a whim.  Wait, that's not totally correct.  Actually, we don't buy a darned thing on a whim.  We are usually too broke to do this.  Doctor's appointments are spread out so that we do not pay more than one co-pay per pay period.  Emergency visits, sudden illnesses, hospitals stays, or Kacy's endless slew of X-rays are not subject to this rule.  Extravagant meals out, with or without the kids, are simply not an option.  Even a trip to the shoe store or enrolling the girls in soccer takes a decent amount of saving ahead of time.  I have tried to instill in the girls the importance of caring for the things we have.  I figure this is simply a good rule and it helps out financially.  I'm beginning to think I've failed with at least one of my girls though.

Storm is very respectful and always rushes to tell me if she thinks she has damaged something.  Kacy used to try and hide damage, but has stopped doing that for the most part.  I guess she finally realized that the punishment for hiding it and lying was infinitely worse than the punishment for simply fessing up and letting me see what happened.  She has now progressed to the stage of plausible deniability.  I guess she figures that if she simply acts like she has no idea what I'm talking about, then her crazy old Mommy might forget, or better yet never learn of, her involvement with said disaster.

This was her tactic when I questioned her about our shower curtain.  Now, I understand that a shower curtain is fairly inexpensive, but I try and teach the Respect of Property rule, no matter the cost of the property in question.  Besides that, when we are excited about having $150 left after bills to buy groceries and gas for two weeks, we don't need to spend ANY money unnecessarily.

I walked into the bathroom the other night to tell Kacy to hurry up and get out of the bath.  For some reason, my girls like to bathe with the shower curtain spread open, so I'm used to this seeing it there.  When I walked through the door though, I saw Kacy sitting in the tub and I saw the shower curtain too.  Odd.  I looked up and saw that the shower curtain was spread straight across at the top.  I visually traced the fall of the curtain until I was looking into Kacy's large, coffee eyes.  She didn't move or say anything.  She didn't offer any explanations or even acknowledged that she noticed what I was staring at.  Instead, she sat silent, blinking at me as I assessed the situation.

It turned out that I could see Kacy clearly, due to a slit that ran almost the full height of the shower curtain.  The top was still intact, but starting two inches down, the curtain separated and cascaded in pretty gathers toward the edges of the tub.  While this was a lovely effect, it was extremely impractical as a water containment device.  I grabbed the inner edges of the two halves of our shower curtain and asked Kacy, "What is this?!"

Blink.

"What happened, Kacy?"

Blink.  Blink.

"Kacy!  Seriously.  What IS this?"

Blink.  "A shower curtain."  The overall effect included the "duh" expression complete with tucked chin, mouth hanging open and innocent doe eyes.  Plausible deniability.

I looked away and rolled my lips inward until my face was mouthless.  I was working at looking mad, while trying desperately not to laugh.  When I gained control of myself, I stood a little straighter and tried again.

"I know it's a shower curtain, Kacy.  Why is it in two pieces?"

"It is?"  Kacy glanced left and right, as if noticing for the first time that something was amiss with the shower curtain.  "Oh.  I don't know."  To some, it may seem as though Kacy was telling a lie, since she obviously was the cause of the two-piece shower curtain.  In fact, she wasn't lying.  I simply hadn't asked the right question yet.  She didn't know why it ended up in two pieces.  She knew what caused it, but not why it decided to give in and separate rather than tolerate the strain she inflicted.  I took another stab at my line of questioning.

"Okay Kacy.  How did the shower curtain get into two pieces?"

"Um, I guess it ripped."  We were improving, but I still didn't feel as though I had the appropriate amount of knowledge.

"How did it rip?"

Blink.

Wait it out, Cindy.  Wait it out.

Blink.

Blink.

"Kacy, how did it rip?"

"It had a little tear on the side."  Blink.

"Okay!  But the little tear didn't just open itself up to a gaping slit that divided the whole curtain in two.  Did you do that?" I asked.

"Yes."

That was it.  No excuses.  No explanation as to why.  Just "yes."

My curiosity got the better of me and I asked, "Why did you do it?"  As soon as I asked the question, I regretted it.  An audio clip of Bill Cosby asking his daughter, "Why did you put the soap in your sister's eyes?" and getting the response, "I don't know," sprung to mind.

Kacy shrugged her shoulders and rewarded my asinine question with the three most highly used words of childhood, "I don't know."

Our shower curtain is basically useless now.  When I slide the rungs at the top all the way across the rod, the bottom remains plastered to the side of the tub in the corner.  Even if I pull it over, gravity takes hold and the curtain falls back down with nothing to keep it in place.  I've spent two weeks trying to keep the shower water in the tub, scrubbing my hair one-handed and mopping up water off the floor every time I'm finished showering.

There are certain basic needs that every family has.  I've come to realize that a functional shower curtain in the only bathroom of a family of five is definitely one of these basic and necessary items.  Budget or not, I'm getting a new shower curtain today.  I'll scrape the coins from the truck's ashtray if I have to but I'll be damned if I'm going to shower again with a curtain in two pieces.  Next time, Kacy's paying out of her piggy bank, whether we're in a recession, a depression or an economic boom.