others have been smelling you for days."
That was something my father said to me when I was a very young boy..maybe 10 years old or so. I recall that I had just helped him load up a trailer full of firewood, and when we all climbed back into the truck I guess I emanated a certain aroma that others found unpleasant. Of course I was oblivious to it at the time. Soon afterwards I was introduced to the world of more frequent showers and deodorant.
Tonight, I got to pass this lesson on to my own 8 year old son. After getting out of his shower and putting on his PJs for bed, he sat down next to me on the couch and I instantly noticed he was emanating his own unpleasant aroma. Having just showered we figured it must be the PJs, so Jody had him go change into a new pair.
Didn't fix the problem.
Ok, so I decided to take a closer look, er smell. The instant I lifted his arms and got close to those pits my fears where confirmed. As I recoiled in anguish I realized two things immediately:
1) He wasn't showering himself very well
2) He is finally getting old enough that it really matters! *sigh*
So after a brief discussion on the finer points of using soap, and specifically targeting the smell prone regions of the body a little better than he may have been, he was sent to try again in the shower. I couldn't let him go to bed like that...it was shocking.
Attempt two yielded much better results (his mother monitored the task be sure), and before he got dressed again I let him apply his first bit of deodorant. He was ecstatic and bounced away proclaiming "awesome! my pits smell like Dads!".
They grow too fast...
(And yes, he is laying down in the drive way....)