Dirt

Today was Ivy's first full time day of daycare (her preschool ended on Friday).

On Mondays, I usually pick the kids up from daycare, change Ivy's clothes and rush them to Ivy's ballet class. Today when I pulled in, I forgot for a moment that Ivy had been there all day...

But I was instantly reminded that she had when I looked at her. She was head-to-toe dirt. I looked over at Story who was sitting in the dirt throwing rocks. At other kids. Kids that were clean.

I looked around at the other kids not getting pummeled in the head by gravel. They were clean, too! Why did my two darlings feel it necessary to get as dirty as possible? I grabbed them both by their hands and took them to the daycare bathroom.

It was worse in the light. I immediately noticed the fine dust in Story's hair, the black depths between Ivy's toes...could I take her to ballet in this condition with a clear conscience? Wouldn't the teacher take one look at her and decide she was the "smelly kid" for today? I grabbed a wadful of toilet paper and wet it. I made several attempts to remove the most obvious dirt but all I could do was clean their faces and make semi-clean streaks on their legs.

I went ahead and put Ivy in her leotard and tights and took them to the car. Her practice clothes covered up the best part of the mess, so I felt okay about taking them.

At bathtime, I ran extra bubble bath and let them soak a long time. By the time we were done, the water had a dark brown tint.