Waiting in line for their turn at the shower

Strange things happen in a house filled with boys some times. Tonight we were at the dinner table and the boys were laughing a being a little crude. I have to admit that I may have added to the crude meter. iI looked across the table and Rebecca had her head down in her hands. I think she was thinking of a far off time where there are no stinky little boys. After awhile and when things had calmed down, she got a whiff of Jonah who smelled like a dirt clod and grass all mixed together. She said, "You know what, I think your dad needs to give all of you a shower 101 course again. Do you all know that when you shower, you have to wash every part of you?" They looked at her blankly, so I knew we needed another class on cleanliness. I had to agree since I had also gotten a whiff of Jonah. Just when you think that your job is somewhat done, you are standing there teaching all over again. I can't tell you how many times we say, "Did you flush the toilet, wash your hands, wash your hair, etc, etc, etc." It never stops.

So, at 7:00 p.m., after all homework was done, all the kids lined up in the hallway with their towels on and the challenge began. I came up with 7 areas to wash in the shower and briefly went over these with them. Jacob was the first one to go and he scored a 35/40, technique was good, but he was a little distracted. Jonah went and it was like a train wreck at first. Part of his hair was still dry when he put the shampoo in, he skipped major steps, so we had to do a little re-teaching. Noah was a pro because he had his brothers to watch a gain some much needed tips. Jonah scored a 35/40 and so did Noah. The funny thing was that I wasn't just giving them all the same score. After the shower, we all met on the couch for the unveiling and they all found out that they all lost one point since the towels were all left on the floor and not on the rack. They were clean though. Have to count your blessings though. Who says it's easy to parent. These are things I have been teaching them since they were 2 years old, but it just goes to show you that my job will never be done with these boys. Over and out.

Robb