Foamy Soap Epiphany

I have had an epiphany. Pay attention because this does not happen often. My kids all received some foam bath soap in an Easter bag from their Granna. They were so excited, me…not so much. I knew that they were going to go batty with that stuff and try to use it all at once. When bath time came, I washed the baby and let him play with his foamy soap. I could control his portions, all was well. Then the 9 year old had his bath and I have no involvement in that (unless he stinks or wastes my water) and bath #2 was done.

Then the dreaded girls bath. My Naomi is a wild 5 year old. She can do a lot of things by herself now, like brush her teeth and squeeze the foam out of a can. She has very little of the moderation gene at this point in her life. I tried to explain that if they used all the foam it would be gone (duh) and they would have none for the next bath. The playing commenced.

As I sat there watching the girls, having heart palpitations over my perceived wastefulness of the foamy soap, the epiphany hit, why do I care if they waste it all? Is it really even waste? Do I really need to conserve foamy soap? Will God be angry at me for not saving foamy soap? Where did my crazy come from?

You have got to understand that I save a lot of things. I can’t help it, it’s in my blood. Thank you Granny and Mom. I also think that saving things is great and beneficial, not only to be a good steward of this earth that the Lord entrusted to me, but to my wallet! I save aluminum foil, newspapers, egg cartons, plastic grocery bags, freezer bags, old socks, etc., etc. This drives Hubby bonkers. He often says in a whispery, creepy, slow drawl, “throw it away”. But I can’t. That’s waste and I may need it later on, you never know when a holey sock may come in handy, rags anyone? So I keep it. I have gotten better about keeping things that could be given away to Goodwill but really, who wants my used aluminum foil? My grandmother and mother were poor. And I don’t mean kinda poor, I mean stinking poor. I am who I am, and live where I live  with the life that I have because of their determination and frugality. I try hard not to lose sight of that fact.

BUT… does this include foamy soap? I decided no. First, I was driving myself nuts. I was totally missing out on the fun! It was their gift, so why not let them enjoy in the way they chose. If that meant one gigantic foamtastic bath, then so be it. I believe  it is my job as their Momma to teach them good stewardship, reduce, reuse, recycle and all that good stuff, but I will no longer freak over the little things. Well, at least I will try to be a better Momma and not freak over the little things ;) And I have concluded that the good Lord is probably more disappointed in me for not enjoying my children's joy, than he is worried about our foamy soap consumption.

So the other night I said, “Have fun!”, then I walked out of the bathroom and let them play. When I came back this is what I found:

And you know what? They didn’t use all the foamy soap. There is still plenty of it for another day. Apparently Naomi thought squeezing it into her ears would be great fun!  Have a blessed day peeps!