A week or two ago, I was in the bathroom hanging up a couple fresh towels. I do this probably once a week, change the towels and linens, but I usually don’t pay much attention to what I’m doing. But for some reason I was paying more attention than usual, and I stopped to look at the towels. And what I saw shocked me a little. Like a rash creeping up in the night. Because seemingly without warning my towels had gone from totally acceptable to seriously beaten down. I thought to myself, How long have they looked this bad? Where AM I when I’m doing these chores?? The color was still good (dark green) and that’s probably why I hadn’t noticed before. But the edges were totally tattered, with little bits of string hanging off at odd and various angles, and a few seriously long clumps that looked like they’d rip the thing in half if you tugged hard enough.

Later I mentioned the shabby towels to my husband. And since I’d been thinking about those towels in the interim (of course), I added for emphasis – Do you realize how old those towels are? He just stared at me blankly. DO YOU KNOW HOW OLD THOSE TOWELS ARE?? I said, all hepped up. I DO. And do you want to know why?? Because I clearly remember buying them, to take away with me – TO COLLEGE – MY FRESHMAN YEAR. IN NINETEEN-NINETY. Those towels are 18 years old.

THAT got him to put down the paper. I stood there nodding whilst we pondered 1) the fact that our towels are that old, and 2) the fact that we are also that old. Then I had another burst of insight. What a towel! What a tribute to a towel. In this throw-away society, do you think many people have towels that old? I am thinking not. But maybe it’s just me. I often buy things at thrift shops. On occasion I have bought other people’s discarded towels and brought them home. Yeah, keep your ewwwwing to yourself. They looked new. And a towel’s a towel. My body didn’t seem to mind – and I might add, I haven’t gotten a whole lot of complaints about THAT.

So my husband and I made the executive decision to splurge and buy ourselves some new towels. YAY! But since we were expecting these new guys to last another 18 years, we wanted to be selective.

I checked Target of course, knowing my predilection to liking all-things-Target. I was surprised to find I didn’t like Target’s towels though. They felt cheap. Not enough nap. And way too small. My husband wanted KING size towels. Genuine bath sheets, if you will.

So Target was out. We looked at Linens `n Things, a store located conveniently next to another favorite, IKEA (hearts & stars!!!), but one I’d never been in until recently. Why? I have no idea, most likely b/c I am the type of person to have 18 year old towels. And what a FABULOUS PLACE!! I think I could spend a whole day there, looking around at all the nifty home stuff, sheets and towels and bedspreads and don’t even get me started on the cooking supplies. ANYWAY, we found a huge selection of towels, but alas, most of them did not meet my husband’s stringent high standards. Or mine. But fortunately we did find a few. They were called HOTEL BATH SHEETS. I highly recommend them for all you rich folks because they cost a whopping 20 bucks a piece, and I am not joking. But I figured hell, if we only have to buy them once every 18 years, why not. And we got them in the most awesome color – a deeply gorgeous burnt orange. As I have noted above, dark colors are especially good for towels because they don’t show stains – even after nearly 2 decades worth of use – and even by college students, and you know how they are.

ANYWAY, we got a few great towels there. Then we went to the SUPER MARSHALLS at Franklin Mills Mall. I know snobs won’t set foot in Franklin Mills, but screw them. Let them pay department store prices. Super Marshalls rocks above all other Marshalls and I always find great stuff there. And of course this trip was no exception. We got 6 more towels – absolutely HUGE, way big enough to cover my statuesque form and my husband’s opulence – and in beautiful dark colors of olive green and purplish gray. A woman in line actually stopped to admire and touch my new towels. THAT’S how great they are. And I might add, they were significantly cheaper than the above mentioned awesome but more expensive L `n T. Like $8 less per towel. No small chunk of change.

So why am I writing this long-winded post about my new towels? Well because I actually used one for the first time this week. And the experience…. ahhhhhhhh… it was el splendito, everything I had imagined it would be. Soft and warm; simply Heaven in a towel. So I wanted to take the opportunity to remind all of you to CHECK THOSE TOWELS! Have 18 years crept by without you noticing? Well then, time to re-supply. No questions asked.