Going Green.....Unintentionally

Today I got to do something that I rarely get to do anymore, which is take a shower by myself. Now stop snickering. My usual shower companion is Katie. When she was younger she flatly refused to get into the little, rain room with me or by herself. She also used to kiss me good-bye before I closed the shower door. Now I cannot keep her out of the shower or take a shower by myself. If I deny her entry, she cries. I would like to think that she is socially conscious and is trying to be "green", but the truth is that she somehow feels entitled to share the shower with me and views it as one of our mommy-daughter rituals like eating lunch at Subway once a week.

Anyway, all she has to do is see me put down the bath mat outside the shower and she breaks the speed record for stripping down to naked. Sometimes I try to sneak into the shower when she is in another room; however, that very distinctive, soft sound of shower water gives me away. In no time at all, I see a blurry, naked figure through the privacy glass on the shower door. She will then press her face up to the glass making a pig nose and asks, "Momma you in there?"

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that Katie likes to be clean. That is far better than struggling to get her into the tub or shower. However, the shower that I use is the one in our master bath and it is a separate unit from the bath tub. But it is not one of those HGTV, multi-head, shower rooms. It's more like a shower closet. The disadvantages of Katie joining me are that the suds from my body wash invariably end up on top of her just shampooed head; Katie always stands by the door blocking any quick exit I may want to make; it's difficult for me to shave my legs because of space limitations; and Katie insists that we shake all of the water off of our bodies before we exit the shower and I look like a fool standing in the shower cube shaking my booty, head, hands and feet. (There's a good image to leave you with!)

As a mom, alone time is scarce. Taking a bath or a shower was one activity that allowed me that precious luxury. So my dear readers, I am jealous of the solitude in your shower and the next time you just don't feel like taking a shower, motivate yourself by remembering that you do not have to share it with a three-year old.