Bathing Rituals

I am a huge bather. Before Zosia was born, I would regularly take a daily bath in Boston-- my excuse being that it was so cold out I had to do something to keep warm. These days I often take a bath with Zosia, and it is usually the most joyful and relaxed time of the day-- we're both happy and at ease, and I've found that if I give Zosia a bath right after her nap, it usually curbs her after-nap grumpiness (inherited directly from a certain parent, and it's not me).

Given my propensity towards bathing, I surprised myself a little while ago when I decided on a whim to quit the daily shower. I love taking a shower, and love feeling clean afterwards. I think it started a winter or two ago when I felt like my skin was getting dry, and decided that instead of slathering lotion on, I would just let nature take care of the problem. It felt weird at first, and took some getting used to-- I just didn't feel ready for my day without the shower. But these days it's second nature, and I actually look forward to the days that I'm not showering, because my morning routine is a snap, and that means I have time for other stuff/ am ready to get going faster.

In college, my closest friends and I all were a little hippy-dippy in our ways and most of us showered sporadically. I even remember Emily once commenting that she liked another friend's "earthy smell"-- now in retrospect, I realize that he just smelled bad, plain and simple. But it was so wonderful to be in a community where there was a shared value of being relaxed about our image-- and there were ways that that relaxation spread into other areas of life. These days if I feel a little pungent, notice my hair isn't immaculate, or whatever, I just try to channel a laid back attitude, realize that no one notices but me (not even Ben... at least he hasn't said anything yet...) and carry on with my day. And the mornings that I do take a shower-- especially the weekend mornings when I can take my time, are that much more wonderful because of it.