What's That Smell?! {March of Kindness: March 4}

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So, today I have chosen to do something so totally random that my husband first laughed, then walked around the house with this weird look on his face for a while after I told him: I'm taking a nice, long bath. Not a bubble bath with Little Guy dumping water on the floor and I'm freezing my butt off because his small two-year-old frame has managed to fill the entire tub. Nope. I'm taking a very hot, very long, VERY QUIET bath - all by myself. Yep - my random act of kindness is going to benefit me today!

Now, I know that I'm not the only one out there who rarely takes time to do something nice for herself. (Did I just hear an "Amen" and a "Right On"???) I wear the same old clothes year in and year out. Yeah, I call it "being green" and all, but every once in a while I'd like to have a brand new top, bought with actual tags from a store on it (as opposed to the little thrift-store tags that a senior volunteer has written $0.25 on, ya know what I mean?) And I'd like to buy one of those frozen family meals that you just have to pour into a casserole dish and toss into the oven for 40 minutes. I'd love to go to the library sans toddler and find a nice, comfy chair to read a poetry or short story book in. And I pine for those care-free days when I took long showers and baths, never once suspecting that they'd be swept out from under me the second my littlest guy was born.

I could put my oldest in the middle of the living room floor when he was a toddler with a few toys and a Blues Clues video tape playing and tell him to stay put until I was done taking my shower. Never once did I expect him to get into trouble - and he didn't! Well, if you've read anything about Little Guy, you know that he's one of those curious-types, always testing the boundaries. The second he thinks I'm not looking at him, even when I'm two feet away, he's into something. And hubby, I love him, but he totally underestimates the little one. This just leads to huge messes, owies, and tantrums - for both of them! So, I've been forced to perfect the 7-minute-shower. Not an easy task when you have hair down to your waist. Oh, and I may as well air my dirty laundry right now - I'm lucky to get three showers a week. SO...

From: Sodahead Slideshows

That's why, today, I took the kind of bath you only see in movies. Scented candles everywhere, tons of bubbles, I got out my deep-pore cleansing mud mask and even treated my hair to some badly-needed deep conditioning. I thought ahead and brought my MP3 player with me so I could tune out the inevitable tantrum-like screaming that could possibly drive me from the tub. As the bath cooled, I drained it a little and added more hot water. I fogged the mirrors and window completely. I shaved my legs (the top part, too!) I got out a brush and gave my feet The Treatment. And, as the water drained from the tub, I kept those headphones on and used the sandalwood lotion I bought myself last summer and has yet to open.

Two hours. Two amazing hours!

When I finally emerged from my little spa, I felt like a woman. Not some asexual being whose purpose is to keep everyone else healthy, safe, and happy. Now, the frustrated husband and toddler didn't upset me. I quietly took over - sending hubby into the kitchen for a break and hugging Little Guy until he could tell me why he was crying (turns out Daddy didn't understand him correctly when he asked for the Monster Truck Show and he put in the Hard-Workin' Truck Show.) I even enjoyed cleaning up and sorting the gigantic pile of toys in the center of the living room. I wiped the chocolate from my toddler's hands, face, ear canals, etc., and didn't nag at hubby for giving it to him. He'd have responded with, "Well, he asked for it. What was I supposed to do?!" Uh... not give it to him? Anyway, I skipped that whole argument and cleaned up my baby, hoping he'd take his nap. 

I am not even kidding - THIS is what it looked like after I had cleaned for 10 minutes and thought to grab the camera.

I don't know when I'll get another bath like that. I'd like to say that I'll make time for me and set a goal of squeezing it in once a month for sanity's sake, if nothing else. But I know better. It's going to be a long time. I just hope that I can stretch that 7-minute-shower into 10 minutes, then 20 minutes someday. For now, I'm just glad I chose to perform a random act of kindness for myself!