Summer

is here, and boy howdy, is it ever hot. We have had one solid month of temperatures over 100 degrees and there is no end in sight. It tends to make us cranky, sweaty, tired and just plain irritable.

And there are five of us now. In our little house. With two bathrooms.

We are completely enjoying having Perfect Daughter spend the last six weeks of her summer law-clerking in the big city next to our little town. She is enjoying sleeping on our couch (maybe) and is being a very good sport about the tiny hall closet allotted to her for her attorney clothes and 500 pairs of shoes. She is also a good sport about sharing the hall bathroom with the two teens/tweens who reside here permanently.

Here's the thing: When Perfect Daughter lived here, that bathroom was all hers. Her siblings were so young that it was a major happy moment if they ever used it, let alone went in there to shower, primp and preen. She had the place to herself, and it was a good thing because Perfect Daughter can be perfectly girly and she had a lot of girly stuff. The medicine cabinet was completely hers, the towel closet held even more of her stuff, and she had no hassles or discussions over use of hot water.

Fast forward seven years, and a few things have changed. Thing one that has changed is that Rowdy Son is now FOURTEEN. Yes, that means that he has gone from a reluctant once-a-week shower (let's be clean for God, OK?), to a once, twice, sometimes three times a day long, hot, steamy time in the bathroom. He has stuff of his own now, and HE owns the medicine cabinet. The shelves in the towel closet contain not just any deodorant, but manly stuff called "AXE" (which costs twice as much and chokes his sisters and the dog when he is getting ready to go out). He is also just a tad picky about his hair (well, maybe obsessive is a better description). He is not happy about sharing the bathroom with one sister, let alone two.

Thing 2 is the recent change in Sweet Girl. She is 12 and a half, and apparently the "half" part just kicked in. She has gone from never, and I mean never, wanting to take a shower (let's face it, she swims every day, and what are braids for anyway?), to occasionally evincing a yearning to be clean. I believe she asked me to buy her some body wash the other day. I should have written that down in her baby book along with "lost first tooth", because it is just as much of a milestone. As far as the hall bathroom goes, she gets the drawer.

So, the other night, Rowdy burst into the living room. We girls were sitting and reading. There was great angst in his eyes and his voice. I would have thought that meant a scorpion was in his bed, but that usually doesn't bother him to that degree. This looked serious.

"Someone has been using my conditioner" (shades of Goldilocks). He looked straight at Sweet Girl.

I laughed out loud and said, "Oh, come on, we know SHE never washes her hair, let alone conditions it", but as I said that, I did notice that she looked sheepish.

"I know it's you," he pointed at her.

"I did NOT use it. I never use it. Never." She sounded pretty determined.

"I know it's you and I can prove it...it's been moved!" he was adamant.

She fell apart, a tiny bit..."I have NEVER used it. And besides, I didn't move it when I did. I mean, IF I did."

At this point, Perfect Daughter chimed in, lawyer that she almost is..."Sweetie, either you did or you didn't...you can't have it both ways."

Rowdy turned to us all, and proclaimed,

"This is my shampoo and my conditioner. Mom bought it for me and I picked it out" (well, that part is almost true--he wanted the AXE stuff at $6.99 a bottle and I steered him toward the fruity stuff at $1.99...strawberry and kiwi, yum). "I know exactly how much I need for my hair to be perfect and I use the exact same amount every time..the bottles are always even...and LOOK!"

He thrust the bottles toward us. The pink was 3/4 full. The green was 1/2 full. We were busted.

"I didn't use THAT much." cried out Sweet Girl. Seriously, busted.

Suddenly, Perfect Daughter assumed a lawyerly stance, saying, "I think it is a reasonable assumption that one can use ANY item in a hall bathroom. This goes for family members and even guests."

"GUESTS?" wailed Rowdy. "I'm locking this up." He ran from the room.

I had to concur with Perfect Daughter. I know that I tend to view hall baths rather like hotel bathrooms. You hope that they are clean, that there will be soap and shampoo and towels, and you absoultely can use all of the above if you find them. I once took a shower in a hall bath and found only dog shampoo. It certainly occurred to me to use it (my host's dog had a beautiful coat, after all), but it was flea shampoo--so, I went with the body wash on my hair instead. I didn't condition it and still went out in public that day, but then again, I'm not a fourteen-year-old boy.

Perfect Daughter told Sweet Girl that, of course, she was welcome to use HER stuff. Any of it. What a generous offer. She's safe though, because we all know how likely Sweet Girl is to take her up on it. But in another six months, that offer might be well and truly regretted.