Stinkerbelle

My daughter needs to bathe.

Is it her age? Is it an aversion to hair washing? Is she just too busy to get some soap on her skin? I dunno, but, in all honesty, I can't remember the last time that girl got in the tub.

Once she's in, either bathing or showering, she enjoys it well enough, and ends up playing for a long time. But getting her in is another story.

I had an old friend from university over with her posse yesterday (she'll be having a caesarean on Monday, for those of you who know A.H.). Topic of conversation went to the "bad water" emergency we had in this city.

"I realized I work on the other side of the tracks," she said, referring to her job as a Grade 1/2 teacher. "During the water crisis, I had a couple of kids really upset at the news, saying, 'But Monday is MY bath night!'"

Ewww, I initially thought, these kids only get clean once a week. But then I thought that my daughter isn't that far off.

I've bought her bubble bath, tablets that change the bath water's colour, bath beads, deluxe soap, toys, etc. but she still fusses.

My boys, however, are crazy about their bath. You can hug them; they smell great. They use this baby shampoo and body wash that smells like Thrills. Funny enough, it's called Li'l Goat Milk Shampoo.

"Take a bath already! There are poor children in Iraq who would love one, you know."