Shower Power

I remember when I was much younger thinking that a shower was a bit of an inconvenience.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't exactly hygiene deficient, but a shower meant going to bed with wet hair and waking up like a Chia Pet when I was already tired and had no hair taming skills (not that I really have them now).

But now, at this stage in my life, a shower has become a luxury.  A rare moment in my day where I can stand in a place by myself without someone jumping on me or yelling in my face.  The other day, my mom watched my kids for a few minutes while I showered at her house and I thought about standing there for an hour just soaking up hot water and a momentary lack of responsibility.  I was very grateful for the gift from her.

Lately at my house though, my shower time has become a speed-drill.  I can usually only get one in when the kids are napping, but since they rarely nap simultaneously, it usually falls during Eli's nap and Marina gets a steam treatment in her Exersaucer.  Since Eli's room shares a wall with both bathrooms, the challenge has become keeping her quiet long enough for me to get clean, while managing not to cut his nap short.  Unfortunately, this is usually extremely unsuccessful.  Her fuse runs out about the time I rinse the shampoo out of my hair (forget about leg shaving, that is a time trap - sorry Mark).  Last week, I was so desperate for Eli's nap that I had to jump out of the shower with conditioner in my hair, without a towel, to grab her bouncy seat and run her and my naked dripping butt (with water, not with poop) down the hall to my bedroom, just to keep her screams from reaching Eli's ears.  Then it was back to the shower to rinse off and then back out to comfort Screaming Mimi and very soon after a crabby Eli.

Sometimes I think I hit the jackpot and get in the shower while both kids are sleeping, only to hear a small knock on the door a few minutes later and then a little hand grabs the shower curtain and throws it open and tells me that he was just checking on me.  On a positive note, I know that if I were ever to drown in the shower, I wouldn't be there more than 5 minutes before I was discovered.

I know what you are thinking, why even bother taking a shower?  It's a good thing I have a part-time job in the real world or I would be home all day every day in my sweats and rotten body.  Some day I will re-enter the land of respectability and wear make-up, pants without elastic and even wear my hair down more than once every 6 months.  But until then, I will likely still be running up and down the hallway naked trying to keep a baby quiet.