I have a high capacity for stimulation.  I enjoy having busy days, working hard, taking classes, going on adventures, driving at odd hours to get somewhere new.  I don’t get tired or overwhelmed easily.  When I lived in NYC, where there was always an excess of fun to be had, I would often overbook myself and try to do it all.  Inundating myself with people or activities, and always prioritizing joy over relaxation.  I am pretty sure I have gotten the advice to “slow down” or “stop burning the candle at both ends” a lot more than any other type of suggestion.  Except for “maybe you should stop self-diagnosing on Google.”

The Munch, however, who is only 3, has different standards than I do when it comes to what maxes her out.  If I were to critique my parenting, I probably push the limits of a toddler by bringing Munch around with me as much as I do.  She doesn’t have a super consistent dinner situation, or bedtime.  There are plenty of meals we eat in the car- relax – they are wheat free and organic.   Not that there is no schedule, but rather than always making the “responsible” decision to get her to bed by 7, I often will instead choose something fun to do together, like watch the sunset on a summers eve (but not in a douchey way).

Last weekend was one of those weekends.  One night we partied and danced until 11pm.  Then the next day we traveled 4 hours to visit a friend and stay at her house.  This friend had 3 children all under the age of 5, so for the only lonely Munch who has no siblings, that must have been as exciting as living inside an iPad.  We then ended up leaving the next night at 9pm and didn’t get home until 1 am.

When she woke up this morning, Munch seemed pretty tired and burnt out.  I asked if she wanted to go to school, and the thought of it made her writhe in protest. Okay fine.  I can dig that.  But I also had a lot of stuff to do that morning.  I wanted to be empathetic and honor the fact that she must have been exhausted, so I suggested she take a bath and relax… but in truth I knew what I was doing.  This kid, like most kids, loves the fucking bath.  She never wants to get out at night, so I figured she could play in there and entertain herself for a while, and I could still be somewhat productive.

The Munch got in the bath, and then about a half hour into it got hungry for breakfast.  So I did what any normal person would do.  I made her waffles and let her eat them in the bath.  I mean she was so content in there.  Just playing, swishing around, and talking to herself. I didn’t want to stop a good thing.  This way her needs were satisfied because she was at home spending time with me, but I was also free to do what I had to get done.

Then at around 11:50 she started to get hungry for lunch.  So again I did the totally reasonable thing.  I made her a salad, which she also ate in the bath. Fine, maybe there were some lettuce and waffle parts floating around, but there are worse things to be bathing with.  Besides, maybe it these particles were exfoliating, or moisturizing her?

I ended getting The Munch get out of the bath after 3 hours and 15 minutes.  Not because she wanted to, but because I started to get afraid that she was going to get some crazy strand of water disease from too much exposure.