I am a girl and as such I have always liked to smell nice. Nice can mean a lot of different things. It can mean perfume, soap, body wash, or shampoo. But mostly I attribute smelling nice to smelling clean. If I can smell myself, I usually don’t feel very clean and rectify the situation immediately. So imagine my surprise when I discovered a new phenomenon right here under my roof. It was something that no one had ever mentioned or warned me about. This new phenomenon: Stinky boy.
You expect a baby to be stinky once in a while, and you expect the child who has spent all day hunting frogs and salamanders not to smell awesome, but this new stinky boy is unlike every other stinky boy experience I have ever had! I have seen this portrayed on over the top tv shows once in a while. But nothing prepared me for reality. There is nothing that could prepare me for puberty of a boy. The hairy legs and armpits I can deal with. The baby mustache and the tiny, little whisker under his lip, I can deal with. We laughed through the squeaks of the voice change, and turned red with the awkward questions about things that happen in teenage bodies. But stinky boy is a whole new ballpark!
I have come home from work a couple of times and been met with this new stinky smell. And what gets me is that he is clean. Always. He can take a shower at night and wake up as stinky boy. There is no way possible for this to happen unless he is cursed like the 12 dancing princesses. Which I just have to wonder now about their odorous state the next morning. After dancing all night and ruining my shoes not only would I be exhausted but I would also not smell pretty anymore. Anyway, back to my stinky boy…
It’s not just his shoes as you expect. While his shoes dont smell great they are by far not the problem. Its his armpits. They are deadly! And what gets me is that he doesn’t smell it at all. He’s totally oblivious to it. It’s like his armpits have a mind of their own. I have yet to find a suitable foe for the deadly armpits. They fight off soap and water. The only thing that gives us relief is the wonderful red bottle of Old Spice. Thank-you Old Spice for getting it right. You are saving nostrils everywhere! Even if it is just a short time.
Adeventures in Parenting 