Chloe came home from her long weekend at her friend’s grandparent’s house dirty and exhausted. She had a fantastic time. Her first request in the door, at 7 pm, was to watch a movie. Our answer, of course, was no – and we knew that our darling Chloe was back. She was not happy. And when we told her she absolutely needed to bathe before bed, she was furious. Never mind that she hadn’t bathed in days (whoever said that girls are more concerned about their hygiene than boys is not living on the same planet I inhabit).
She let out the scream heard around the world. And didn’t let up. Not even when her Papa picked her up, fully clothed, and stood her in the bathtub (which didn’t yet have any water) to make the point that no matter how many policemen came in response to 911 calls, she would take her bath tonight. I finally got her undressed and started the water flowing. And she finally realized that the bath was inevitable.
In the blink of an eye, she went from outraged 8-year old to chatterbox 8-year old. Telling me about all the fun she had the last few days. And during those few minutes, I managed to sanitize her. And by 8:05 pm, without even glancing at her latest book, she was fast asleep.