Seventh grade must be the year of Creative Hygiene Techniques. At least all my experience with seventh grade boys points to this conclusion. And even weirder is the fact that both of my boys at the same age have done the exact same thing - with deodorant (and I'm not talking about it's 'normal' usage). This is weird.
As soon as Bennett told me his predicament, I was instantly transported back in time to Gavin's deodorant story. I do not understand our family's fascination with deodorant. Really I don't. I personally have a fetish that requires I re-apply a few times a day so as not to come anywhere close to smelling anything less than "fresh" and "mommy-like". Trust me, my kids do not share that fetish. If they did, I would be thrilled. I also tend to brush my teeth 10 times a day. Another odd habit I would be happy to see emulated in this household. But no, there are definitely no brushing teeth fetishes at all. Sometimes there is no brushing teeth at all. But that's a whole nother blog. Back to deodorant....
So, while we were out of town this past weekend, the kids stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's. Bennett came back from Basketball tryouts and immediately took a shower. That by itself is impressive people. That he would walk into a bathroom on his own accord to shower without any adult suggestion or manipulation is miraculous. I was very proud to hear of this account. We are definitely showing progress in the Maturing To Adulthood Phase.
As the story goes, Grandma meant to put some soap in the shower earlier that day but had forgotten. She asked Chloe that night if there was any soap and Chloe told her "no" so she immediately went to get her some. But this caused a little consternation for Grandma who remembered her 12 year old grandson showering in that same bathroom earlier in the day. "Hmmmm", Grandma thought to herself, "I wonder how Bennett got clean if there was no soap in there?" A very good question in deed.
The only way solve the mystery of how Bennett got 'clean' would be to ask him since he was the sole participant. He proudly announced that since he didn't see any soap and didn't feel the need to ask for any, he was looking around for something to make him 'smell clean'. And lo-and-behold what did his eyes fall upon but....his deodorant. He thus commenced 'cleaning' his body with deodorant, rubbing it upon every service where the lost bar of soap should have gone. This was after he was out of the water. Water does wonders, but it does not always help you smell good, especially after playing basketball for 2 hours. In steps "Sport Smelling Deodorant" and voila. You now have an awesome smelling kid who may also be a genius for coming up with such a creative plan. Oddly enough, he was complaining to me this morning about a mysterious "rash" that is popping up all over his body. Hmmmm....I wonder why?
This may just be a good case-study for geneticists. We still have one more kid to make it to 7th grade, so we'll get back to you in two years to find out if we're 3 for 3. Then it would definitely be genetic. If not, I conclude it is just a 12 year old 'boy thing'. Just for the record, my hypothesis is it's a 'boy thing'. Chloe wouldn't be caught dead now at 10 years old doing that. She would use her hair shampoo as soap instead of go without it. So, gut reaction is...boys do weird things. Especially with deodorant. End of story.
