Friday, February 20, 2009

The Loo

Girls love bathrooms.

That is what I have decided.

When I'm standing in the check-out line at Costco, or the grocery store or wherever (it doesn't really matter, insert anything into this place and it will be the same outcome), 9 times out of 10 Katie says she needs to use the restroom.

Now, I am aware of the whole have-your-children-use-the-bathroom-before-you-leave-the-house method, and I do use it regularly. However, it doesn't seem to matter - and we're not talking about a kid who has some kind of medical condition which requires constant bathroom use here, we're talking about a kid who loves bathrooms.

Maybe it's the cinnamon scented air freshener?

Maybe it's the rows and rows of shiny steel doors?

Maybe it's the soap dispensers, or the gigantic rolls of toilet paper?

Maybe it's the (gasp) seat covers?

Whatever it is, that girl of mine, the one who definitely does not have a weak bladder, almost always has to explore the bathroom whenever we are out.

What's a mother to do? As much as I don't mind not being the one to load every single item that has managed to find its way into my Costco cart (I just got my rebate check for the year, don't judge) onto to the conveyor belt, I definitely dislike using public bathrooms a lot more. A lot more.

But my daughter? Not her. It's like she's on an adventure. Every single time. Maybe she has a side job as a secret bathroom reviewer?

Now there's an idea! Companies could actually pay her to go into their bathrooms and rate them. . . wait a minute, that means I'd have to go with her. Never mind, scratch that idea.

Point is, the girl is obsessed. She is an equal opportunity bathroom obsess-or too. It doesn't matter if the bathroom is small and tucked away in the back room of a hole in the wall restaurant, she's going to want to check it out. It doesn't matter if the bathroom is at the top of a high staircase, or a port-a-potty at the baseball field, she'll want to see it. It doesn't matter if it's the Taj Mahal of bathrooms complete with a gold toilet, she'll decide it's time to use it and if that bathroom happens to be out of seat covers...she's going to notice.

Maybe it's some kind of mechanism, that all of our children are fitted with right before entry into this world, which permits them to love the one thing their mother dislikes. In my case, public bathrooms.

Maybe she's put on this planet to teach me a lesson.

Well, of course she is. If colic weren't the ultimate lesson in testing my patience, than certainly this bathroom obsession of hers is the next best thing because there is only so much "honey don't touch that, Katie don't peek under the stalls, come on and hurry up and wash your hands," that I can take.

Back to my original thought: girls love bathrooms.

All of them except for me.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Send her down, she and I will take a bathroom tour. I LOVE checking out bathrooms.

xoxo

Anonymous said...

Sooo, when it is her turn to do the secret Birthday adventure with us.. may we take her on a loo tour?

Of course, that isn't for a few more years!


xxxooomom

One of my biggest disappointments on my first trip to Europe was when we couldn't get past the lobby of the London Ritz! I so wanted to check out the loo. But only hotel guests were allowed.

sigh

Anonymous said...

I've tried to interest my son into public bathrooms when he clearly has to go with ideas like, oh, I wonder if the dispenser is automatic, or oh, I wonder if it lights up.. and anything else that's crazy enough to interest a boy.

Unfortunately, boys hate bathrooms. They'd rather go outside.

Daisy

Nadine said...

Not just girls, oh the many times I had to tell my 3 yo little guy "Don't peek under the stalls!" :)

Julie H said...

My son LOVES to wash his hands in the bathroom. The more soap the better.

Anonymous said...

OMG You could be talking about MY daughter!!
I thought I was the only one with a Loo Girl!! She does the same thing. She also loves the echo she can make in bathrooms.
Any time she knows there's a bathroom somewhere, she HAS TO go.

monstergirlee said...

I'm not one who cares much for bathrooms. Only if they're big and luxurious and don't smell of that icky cinnamon air freshener.
Son doesn't care much about them, just announces when he has to go.
It is scary as I've started letting him go into bathrooms alone now at age 6. I stand outside the door and tell him - Scream for me if there's anything weird going on.
But I digress.

LuckyMe said...

Boy that brings back memories. I thought all little girls were fascinated with public restrooms. My sister and I certainly were. Usually when we went out to eat, which was not often.

LuckyMe said...

Boy that brings back memories. I thought all little girls were fascinated with public restrooms. My sister and I certainly were. Usually when we went out to eat, which was not often.

LuckyMe said...

Boy that brings back memories. I thought all little girls were fascinated with public restrooms. My sister and I certainly were. Usually when we went out to eat, which was not often.

OHmommy said...

My girls are crazy in bathrooms... like they could rate bathrooms.... LOL!