Metamorphosism

When my two daughters were about Gamma’s age, they were so averse to taking baths /showers that several months after I told them that they had to bathe at least every other day, I found in their room a hand drawn calendar for four months, with the instructions, “Put an “x” on every day that Mom takes a bath.” The long stretches of days without “x’s” convinced me that they weren’t showing due diligence in keeping track; but the discovery of this calendar answered the question of why they had gotten into the habit of asking me in the morning, “Mom, did you take a bath last night?” (Of course they knew I didn't like showers.) Obviously they were trying to determine if this was a case of “Do as I say, and not as I do.” Not hardly!

Finding that his earwax has become so overwhelming that it's actually starting to mat his hair into dreadlocks has a less than dramatic effect on a young boy's motivation to take a shower, however.