B.O.

I have been working hard as a biometric screener/health educator/wellness consultant. There is really no official title for what I do, I just do it, enjoy it and get paid for it. I decided to work a bit extra this week because I will be off for the next three weeks. I work at different companies checking on the employees' health to kind of give them an idea of where they are physically. We check blood pressures, cholesterol, body fat, bone density, and things of that sort. Since most people take time off for the holidays, these companies don't usually schedule health screenings during those times. It is good for me because I get three weeks off without having to request it. It is bad for me because I don't get paid. I had the bright idea of working extra to make up for that time.... so, back to the fun title of this post....

I have worked every day this week. You may think that is no big deal, but for a mom of an infant and an almost 3 yr old, it is VERY hard. I have also only been working 1-3 days a week for roughly 4 hours at a time. This week I was working long days, driving all over Ohio and waking up WAY before the sun. Somewhere around Wednesday night I started falling apart. I was completely exhausted and wanted to go to bed at 7:30pm. Needless to say, this never happened. I got up the next morning and was so tired. I was still pretty clean, I thought, so I slept a little more and skipped the shower. We have all done this, but it CAN backfire.

In my sleepy stupor, I forgot to put on deodorant. I went to work at a corporate site. I thought all was good but I occasionally smelled some B.O. Odd, I thought. These people bathe regularly (I often work at places where people only bathe on occasion). I went on with my day and got home only to realize that it was me. What? Just one day of skipping a shower? How could I be that stinky? Ah, I forgot to put on my deodorant. This is key on a skip shower day. I hope I didn't offend anyone or gross anyone out.

Once again, I was completely exhausted when I got home. I worked all day, drove all over and just wanted to go to bed. I did not make dinner, but somehow we all ate something. I skipped Maya's bath. She seemed to still be good... it is winter, you know? (This is all part of the rationalization that comes with being tired) So, I didn't bathe, Maya didn't bathe and we would all get to bed at a reasonable hour. Then Jeff, who is strangely obsessed with 'beating the system' of Netflix (story to come soon), wanted to watch a DVD on his laptop in our bed when I wanted to go to sleep. Mind you, it was only 7:30pm. I asked him to please put on some headphones and I would go to sleep. I didn't. I watched it.

The next morning I needed to be in a city 1 hour 15 minutes away at 6am. If I got up around 4am, I could leave in time. My alarm went off and Reili wanted to be fed. I fed her...in my bed...while I was laying down. I woke up again and it was 5am. I had to leave because the event started at 6:30am. I had no time to eat, shower, or do much of anything. Why oh why did I skip my shower yesterday?????

I changed my undies (VERY important) slapped on Jeff's man deodorant (serious stuff), sprayed myself down with body spray, brushed my teeth, changed and ran out the door. I cleaned my face with a baby wipe, brushed my hair and put on makeup in the car and made it to my job just as the health screening was beginning. We are encouraged to be there one hour before the event. I was there 2 minutes after it had begun. Wow.

I would like to take this time to relay an important message:
1. Never skip a shower simply because you are tired...it could and will probably backfire.
2. If you are over 30, go to bed when you are tired. You aren't a spring chicken. Accept it.