Showers of Happiness

Maria has started to take showers and it is HILARIOUS.  She is so funny.  Last Saturday she went to her friend Paige's house and she went swimming in Paige's indoor pool.  Apparently, she and Paige took a shower afterward - it is like pulling teeth to get information from that girl, but finally she told us the whole story and it seemed fine.  At first I was like, you took a shower?  WHERE?  But the good thing about someone like Maria is that she always says what's on her mind, so I don't worry so much that anything would happen to her and she just wouldn't tell me. Anyway.  At first it was weird but now I'm excited that she is taking showers because maybe she can do it by her damn self some day soon.

But for now, we go up and I run the water and make sure it's not too hot and then she steps in.  I give her the poof with her bathwash on it because if we use mine, it burns her (poppycock).  She scrubs up and rinses off and poof! it's done and it's so cute.  She seems like such a big girl at the same time as being a little girl.

She has a friend at school named Tori, and she has loved her the whole year.  Lately she has made friends with another girl and I feel like this girl might be kind of bossy.  If she is bossy compared to MARIA, you can imagine, right?  That's pretty bossy!  Anyway, this morning Maria said how she wasn't playing with Tori anymore because this other girl said that Tori's skin smelled.  Since Tori is black, I started to get a little freaked out but I was trying to be cool because I thought if Maria sensed that I was worried, she'd not be honest or something.  I told Maria that Tori's skin certainly did NOT smell and that I didn't want to hear that she wasn't playing with anyone.  I told her that the point of preschool is to have FUN and PLAY with EVERYONE!  She came home today and told us that she DID play with Tori today and everything was okay.  Then she said, kind of quietly, "Tori's skin is brown and mine is white, right?".  AUGH.  She is not even five years old!  I said yes, Tori's skin is brown and your is white and that doesn't really mean anything in preschool, so don't worry about it.  Worry about being nice and kind and playing with everyone.

The school she's going to next year is like 50% African American so it's not like she won't notice that some people are black and some are not but man.  I just hate the thought that some little kid is talking about some OTHER little kid's skin color and saying it smells!  I hope we said the right thing, sheesh.