The Elephant in the Room

The bathroom, that is. When our oldest daughter was 3-years-old she saw her daddy naked in the shower. I mean, it was bound to happen at some point. Let me set the stage…

It was just after nap time for Faith and Fara. I was feeding Fara on the bed, who at the time was just a few months old, and Faith was doing what toddlers do: wreaking havoc in my closet, trying on my jewels, jumping on the bed, you know, the usual. My husband was taking a shower in our bathroom. The door was closed and Faith had no clue he was even in there. She quickly got bored of exploring the rest of our bedroom and ventured into the bathroom. I didn’t think anything of it – she’s 3, who cares. Well, my husband quickly cared.

Faith said ‘hi’ to her daddy, bounced around the bathroom for a minute or two and then I heard my husband’s tone shifting. It went from a sweet chat between a daddy and his daughter to a pretty flat ‘Faith, don’t look over here…Faith get out of the bathroom. URS, get her out of the bathroom!’ Faith was just giggling because by making a big deal of it, he accidentally made it a game. Now she was really looking. Through the glass shower doors. She was looking, while he was trying desperately to shield himself from any possible angle. His panic was followed quickly by Faith’s screaming. Terrified screaming. She ran out the bathroom, red-faced, screaming and yelling. She was in a pure, completely innocent, panic.

‘Mom, there is something in the shower with Daddy. MOM, I think it’s an elephant. Yea, it’s an elephant. Why is there is an elephant in the shower with daddy? How did an elephant get in the shower? Why is there an elephant in the shower with Daddy? DAD, let me see that elephant! DAD. Where are you? Mom, dad locked me out of the bathroom…’

Now, I know we shouldn’t laugh at our children but this time, I didn’t even try not to laugh. I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t speak and was crying. Tears and mascara streaming down my face. You can imagine how embarrassed my husband was. He came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel with a set of new house rules. Faith was not fazed by his embarrassment and continued to ask questions. Hilarious questions but ones that we had to take seriously. Three lessons were taught in our house that day. Faith learned what ‘privacy’ means, she learned that daddy showers with an elephant and my husband learned to never shower with an unlocked door.

My poor husband still gets embarrassed when I tell this story but I always offer him one bit of solace…at least she won’t remember this when she’s older?!? Nope, never makes him feel better.

Mommy Diatribes