Quite Literally About Taking Baths

Some days the only time I actually look into my children's eyes is when I am on my knees bent down beside the bath tub on a damp folded up towel scrubbing their naked bodies.

Are there any children out there that actually dislike bath time?

On quiet nights when Jeff plays in his soccer league I find myself marching them up the stairs and into the bath.

Even though they fight in there and splash too much water onto the bathroom floor which has leaked through to the kitchen ceiling, bath time is a sacred ritual at our house.

I like all three of them lined up in one place. sitting.

I like that I can clean the bathroom while they are in there, their fingers turning to prunes.

I like clean children.

I wonder why I don't bathe them three times a day.

I like when Lena is alone in the tub and I catch her pretending to be a mermaid just like I did when I was her age laying belly down pushing off and watching the water whoosh around her shoulders.

I think it's funny Simon always lingers in the bath long after the other children have fled to towels,

and long after the water has already drained and his body has turned cold.

Post-bath naked madness and the scramble for the bed time routine is always quick to follow.

cellulite never looked so good

because it's usually Simon with the "full-frontal"

and just like that we get to wash away a bad day where patience might have run thin and tempers flared, tell stories and laugh then start fresh again in the morning.

Then it's kisses to their damp heads and a commitment to be a better mother tomorrow. And as I sneak back down the creaky stairs I remember how much I really love them.

And if all else fails, there's always bath time tomorrow night.