Words Cassidy Nunn
Photo Nunn Other Photography
“Ready for your coffee milk mama? It’s an extra hot, caramel, cinnamon, oat, soy latte!” My girls, aged two and five, giggle as they each hand me a mug overflowing with foamy bubbles. Their hair is wet and plastered to their faces, bath bubbles adorn their heads like soapy crowns and cling to their shoulders in dollops. The bathroom floor is soaked and covered in traces of bubbles – the nightly bath time “coffee” making extravaganza often becomes an exuberant event with a lot of splashing, singing, bubble throwing and general goofiness that escalates. And while part of me is itching to wipe the mess up immediately, I work on my tolerance of mess and instead take a deep breath, sit on a step stool beside the edge of the tub and pretend to gulp down my “coffee.” I end up with a glob of bubbles on the tip of my nose and the girls collapse in another fit of hysteria. Our puppy hears the commotion and comes racing down the hallway, his nails skittering along the floor as he bursts through the door and nearly jumps into the tub. I scramble off the stool to grab his collar, spilling my “coffee” in the process, adding to the growing pond on the bathroom floor.
Pre-kids I always envisioned bath time as the calming, winding down to our busy days. I bought the lavender, extra soothing, extra sleepy time type of kids bubble bath – anything that promised to help promote a soothing effect on my rambunctious bath time baristas. But the bubbles definitely do not seem to have that effect on my kids. As they continue to laugh and splash, mixing their bubbles into a variety of concoctions and potions, I think of how ironic it is that no less than five minutes ago they were protesting bath time as if it were a form of torture. I know the protests are merely because it’s signalling the end of the day with bedtime to follow, but the ritual and routine of a nightly bath time is something I’m not willing to give up on quite yet. I love experiencing the creativity that comes out of watching them play with a few simple toys and bubbles, listening as their imaginative minds create stories and characters, games and songs. Of course there’s often sibling squabbles and epic protests against the necessary hair washes, but it’s a time for connection at the end of the day.
Sometimes we listen to music and have (seated) dance parties; other times I’ll light a few candles, the girls will throw in some bath salts and we’ll create the “spa” experience (yet another one of my ploys to try to create a more calming bedtime!). Other times they’re drumming on the back of bowls and singing so loudly I’m sure the entire neighbourhood can hear their chorus.
There are signs that we’re reaching the end of these bath time nights with my oldest – she’s already opting for a quick evening shower on any night it’s offered over the tub, and she’s begun negotiating how many nights a week a bath is required. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that we were giving her first bath at home – the baby bath nestled within the big bathtub, checking and then re-checking the temperature of the water, first-time parents absolutely paranoid we’d get it wrong. She was so tiny and fragile, but it was easy to see how the warm water was instantly soothing. There were days when she’d be so upset, but as soon as you put her in a warm bath, she’d settle right down, kicking her little legs and delighting in the splashes she’d create.
So for now I’ll continue to embrace the soggy floors and bubble beards, the cacophony that is bathtime in our household. I’ll take a soapy latte from my girls any night, the perfect pre-bed treat.
