I'm not sharing!

The bathroom is the ultimate place for alone time. No one really wants to know what you're doing in there. But our kids... Well, they don't have these boundaries.

In an of itself, my bathroom audience never bothered me much. When Nate was an infant, I didn't worry about putting him down for a nap, taking a shower, and having to strain my ears listening for his cry over the sound of the shower. I just put him down for a nap in his bouncy chair in the bathroom with me while I took a shower. If I needed to pee while feeding him, I would just take him with me. Honestly. So it was only natural for him to follow me into the bathroom ever after.

On the other hand, what this bathroom audience represents is bothersome. With motherhood comes the end of privacy. You lose a large amount of privacy with marriage, but even more with motherhood. Before motherhood, going to the bathroom meant people would pretty much leave you alone. Not anymore. That's why this is the ultimate proof of the loss of privacy.

Perhaps this is most troublesome when it comes to me needing a treat. Sometimes what I really need is to put my feet up and eat some dark chocolate without sharing. Of course, if the kids see my stash or see me eating chocolate without them, my personal, private treat time is over - and something about the treat being private and indulgent and completely self-centered is what makes it so treat-like. So here are all my secrets.

First, my daily treat is not chocolate but coffee. As a non-morning person, a.m. time is when I need a treat the most, and coffee is the best morning treat. Plus, kids can't have coffee. End of story. I don't have to share.

Second, there is a special place in the refrigerator (chocolate must be refrigerated in this climate) behind the butter, which is just at eye level for the boys at this age. We all know they don't move things around to look for something. So even if they are looking in the fridge for a drink or a snack, they will never see my stash behind the butter. I don't always have something stashed, though. I stock my stash when I know Rodgers will be gone a lot in a particular week. Also, he stocks it for me when he thinks about it, which is even better.

Third, though we would prefer an open floor plan for our family home, this house doesn't have one. There is not even a pass-through between the kitchen and dining/living room. The kitchen is very isolated. The kitchen door is not even in a place where you might walk past, unless you are going out the back door. Thus, I can quite easily sneak a treat as needed. The only thing missing is the "putting my feet up" part!

Fourth, I wait for that glorious hour: bedtime. The boys are in bed asleep, and now I can have my treat, all to myself. On the couch! With my feet up! And if Rodgers is
home, I bring him his own treat so that I don't have to share mine.







The Mamas Tell All linkup is back! This is the first week of round 2.