Bath Time

Ever since I became a mother, one of the most idyllic motherhood scenes has eluded me. The art of bathing a child before bedtime and the relaxing lightness of play that accompany it has always been something of my white whale. Whenever I have taken to the routine, I have felt harangued by resistance. Instead of thinking of bath time as a spa-like respite, my kids always see it as a disruptive break in play. Washing and rinsing their hair is like torture for all parties, even when wintertime brings ladybugs to roost on the ceiling for something new to focus on. Whether the shampoo is tears free or not, tears invariably fall. Despite my warnings, the floor always gets overly wet along with whatever I'm wearing making me cold in the winter and merely annoyed in summer. As time has passed, I've wondered why I've never been able to take on this most basic life activity with more grace. But before I get too hard on myself, I think of the hundreds of other things I do well as a parent. And if my kids don't naturally gravitate to the pursuit of pampering - well, it isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it?

First-Day Euphoria

Well, only half-way through the first day of school and I'm already relishing that good-time euphoric feeling. Like me, I bet you did a decent job of keeping the get-ready-for-another-school-year stress at bay during the last few days of summertime, but really we just wanted to pull the trigger and get into it again. Looming so near in the future leads to a sort of we might as well be back default setting. For me, I questioned whether I could really get up at 6:30 am, feed three kids, and pack 3 lunch sacks meanwhile giving the new pup enough exercise to hop back into her crate until lunchtime. Well I'm happy to say, I pulled it off and it feels good. It sure helps that we landed one of the most picture-perfect days in terms of sunshine and temperature in recent memory. And frankly, it doesn't matter a lick how I do the rest of the year. The first day is nearly over and the school hasn't called. My wee kindergartner is safely off the bus and all smiles. Dinner is being made as I type. Life is good.

Does Anybody Remember Laughter

Exasperation seems to be the name of the game when you're a parent. For instance, my youngest was pushing buttons the other night (can you guess whose buttons?). Anyway, we were having dinner in the kitchen while my five year-old was besting her latest impression of a brat when I finally charged in with what I thought was a deflection, "If you insist on going down this road...". Her interruptive delivery was comedic genius as she blocked with, "what road?" Disarmed as I was, I found plenty of energy for laughter as did the whole family. I could write a book with her one-liners.