Bathing

I never thought that I would come to relish bathing as much as I have since I became a mother. 

For me, bathing is like cleaning the kitchen floor.  It gets done if I have the time and energy.  And I am pretty sure that my kitchen floor gets mopped more often than I take a shower. 

This past summer, we were between houses, as we had to leave our previous place at the end of June and our new place was only available on the first of August.  Since David's father had passed away in June, his house in Haifa was empty.  So we packed up the family and moved there.  David left shortly after for China together with Shmuel and I was a month alone in Haifa, with the girls.  Haifa has horrible weather.  Because it is on the water, it is humid as hell.  If one walks outside for two seconds, sweat develops and rolls down your body, like you are a human shower.  It is terrible.  I hate humidity. 

So there we were, in David's childhood home, which does not come equipped with a bathtub.  The only shower is stuck onto the wall of the bathroom and is not encased or separated from the rest of the bathroom.  At the end of the day, when I needed to give the girls a shower, I would get in with them and the three of us would shower together.  I realized after about a week, that it was probably the most I had showered in three years, since I gave birth to Chaya. 

Usually, at home, I get busy.  I go about my day, then the girls get a shower or bath, as does Shmuel and then by the time the three of them have been put in bed and then gotten up about 65 times for water, another story, pee, poo, a last minute snack and finally asleep, I collapse onto the sofa and have barely enough energy to make it to my bed.  So a shower, although seemingly a nice idea, is just that, a nice idea.  I don't have the energy left to walk another few steps and do what one needs to do in order to take a shower.

I really never thought that taking a shower would become a task where the amount of energy needed in order to do so would become too much for me. 

Add to that, that in Israel, the hot water is solar heated.  In the winter, in order to take a shower or bath, one must plan ahead.  It takes about an hour to heat up enough water for a good bath, so I favor taking a shower before dark in order to maximise the hot water.  However, taking a shower in the daytime, with small children is a juggling act.  I have gone days without a shower.  And then, all of a sudden, I raise my arms and think "Oh crap, I really need a shower."   Because, if you can smell your own body odor, it really means that you are a disgusting pig who needs to bathe. 

In Israel, however, body odor seems to be common.  Especially in the summer.  Because the heat is so atrocious, it is impossible not to sweat, humidity or desert, doesn't matter.  And no deoderant works well enough to prevent the odor.  Believe me, I know, I have tried.  As a result, in the summer, it is easy to get away with not taking a shower.  The winter, however, calls your bluff. 

Last night, I was in the shower and I thought, "Wow, this is so nice, to take a shower before bed.  I won't have to do it in the morning.  The house is quiet, the kids are sleeping and I am clean!  Good for me!!!"  My second thought was "That is so weird Amanda.  You shouldn't feel as if you have climbed Mount Everest just because you took a shower."  But I did.  I felt like I had secured peace between Israel and Palestine.  Accomplished this impossible but world changing feat. 

I almost called CNN, but my rational voice took over that said "You need to get out more darling."  So I settled for putting on clean pajamas and cuddling under my duvet and drifting off to sleep, dreaming that I had won the Nobel Peace Prize for being an advocate for cleanliness.