Normally, flushing the toilet is a good thing.

Claire loves to recap events or describe things that have just happened. She’s actually very good at it. All of the sentences tumble out one right after the other, with hardly a break for a breath. Here is what Claire said when she handed me my towel:

“Momma was takin’ a shower. You was takin’ a shower! And, I was over here. And then I was over there. And you was talkin’ to me. And I was talkin’ to you. Then, I camed over here, and I flushed the toilet. Momma yelled. You yelled! You yelled at me! You was angry! I cried! Cuz I was sad. And you was angry! And you yelled! And I cried some more. And then I was sad. And then you was finished in the shower. And I peeked in. And you kissed me. Cuz you was angry, cuz I flushed the toilet, and you yelled, and I was sad. But I love you. And you love me?”

“Yes, Claire. Of course I love you. Just because I get angry and yell doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I love you, but don’t ever flush the toilet when Momma’s in the shower…ever again.”

Oddly enough, I didn’t get scalded or frozen to death when she flushed the toilet. And, technically she asked if she could do it…as she was doing it…as I shouted Nooooooooooo. It all happened simultaneously and in slow motion.

I try to take my shower before she gets up or during her nap. This time was an exception. But, she’s been in the bathroom with me before as I’ve showered, and we’ve never had a problem.

No, I’ve never specifically told her (before now) to never flush the toilet when someone’s in the shower. And, how could she know that this is a bad thing? Flushing the toilet is a highlight in her day, and people taking showers is quite exciting. (Sometimes it’s the simple things that make a toddler’s life entertaining…) She wouldn’t know that combining the two is not a good thing.

But, now she knows.