Don't Have a Phone Conversation in the Bathroom

If you were a random passerby walking near our home, you might hear quite a variety of sounds. Those audible noises can range from utter chaos, mother-gone-mad (embarrassing, but true..LOL), rough housing boys, complete silence (rare), and hysterical laughter (often mixed w/ crying). Yesterday we experienced an "hysterical laughter day (w/ crying mixed in) scenario on the range of possibilities.

S0, dear daughter Rachel (7 1/2 years old) decides she would like to phone her grandmother to have a conversation (usually a one-way conversation ;o) about her own Christmas gift desires. This after she had already given her an extensive list the day before (laugh). Anyway, out of the corner of my eye I noticed Rachel chit-chatting away and walking into the bathroom as she did so. This was one of those "Momma has a red flag moments, but doesn't call it out" type deals.

I lazily chose not to reprimand her, and ignored my own uneasiness regarding her having the phone in the bathroom. In my experience as a mother of many, the bathroom is one of "those" rooms. It has water, waste receptacles, bathroom tissue, cosmetic/personal care products, and important household plumbing. These items are not ideal for children....LOL...and they often need supervision near them, especially when the children are under age 10. You can tell this story is headed to a big finale, can't you?

Suddenly, the bathroom door literally flies open and hits the wall adjunct to it. Rachel is standing there, horrified. "I dropped the phone in the toilet!!!" she exclaims with utter horror. We all stop what we are doing and stare at her. This is when the hysterical laughter breaks out...by the way, I am not the one laughing!

The boys are almost rolling on the floor in stitches of belly-rolling guffaws. They begin imitating Rachel's conversation with her grandmother: "Hey, grandma...this is what I want for Christmas..FLUSH!" They can hardly contain themselves and repeat this over and over. Rachel is not humored in the slightest, and only more troubled by what she has done.

My first reaction was obvious irritation. I gave her a 1 minute lecture about how it is not smart to have a phone conversation in the bathroom. Obviously, I left out the part about me not calling her about it in the first place! This is one of those "duh" lectures where nothing really needs to be said, and that the event itself taught her the lesson. (But it did make me feel a little better...grin). Rachel dramatically flees upstairs to her bedroom to throw herself down on her pillow and weep, Scarlett O'Hara style. (the boys continue to bust their guts with laughter...yelling upstairs and taunting Rachel even further).

We realize the phone is not operational, due to its fall into the toilet. Thankfully, we have a spare phone available.

Elijah (9 1/2 years old) immediately calls grandma to explain what cut her and Rachel's conversation short. She did say she heard a rather loud screech and then dead air.

As Elijah is walking around the house and chatting with grandma, I notice a crude sign taped to the bathroom door, in Elijah's 9 1/2 year old boy handwriting. This brings the beginnings of hysterical laughter to my mouth:

"No phones in bathroom!"

The whole drama died down after awhile...until my husband arrived home. The boys had to explain and re-enact it all over again. At this point, Rachel had gotten herself together, and was able to listen without crying. She even cracked a little smile as the boys mercilessly teased her.

When all was said and done, Roger (my husband) told Rachel a funny story about the time her brother Greyson actually "fell" into the toilet (head first) when he was potty training. This made her smile and gave her a little ammunition to strike back with.

And so goes another sound on the wide range of possibilities featuring noises emanating from our home....

Merry Christmas to all! May your home be filled with laughter and joy!


--Camy