For posterity

I've been meaning to write about this for days, so I'm just going to get it out very quickly. (I'm at work.)

Simcha has been potty-trained for quite some time now, but we still have to be aware of when she is using the bathroom because she'll get herself into trouble sometimes.

The other day I realized she had been in there for a period of time that was longer than was usually necessary, so I looked in on her.

Picture this: she was standing facing the open-lidded toilet. Her bloomers were down around her ankles, her dress pulled up to her belly and tightly tucked under her left arm. She was looking down in the toilet. I startled her when I opened the door. She said, to her credit almost completely calmly, "No, Daddy, I'm na finish." At the same time - knowing full well that I would soon put her play to an end - she hastily grabbed for what she hoped would be one last bit of toilet paper.

This was comical because she had to hold the roll steady with her left hand, the one with her dress bunched up beneath it, without letting go of the dress. To do this she had to stand up on her tiptoes. Because she was in such a hurry, she only managed to get about half a square. Then she turned, threw the paper in the general direction of the bowl, and watched with intense concentration. The paper fluttered down, coming to rest in the bowl.

This took far less time than it takes to describe, and was accomplished by the time I took the two steps into the room to stand next to her.

Normally, a toilet bowl is filled with water. By this time, it was filled about half with (yellow) water and about half with wadded toilet paper sludge. Trying to keep from laughing, I surveyed the situation momentarily.

Not one to give up easily, my brave daughter asseted herself again. "No, Daddy, I na finish, Daddy." She turned to get some more paper.

"Oh, no you don't," I said, returning to my wits. "Finish up now. Did you wipe yourself?"

"Yeah. Daddy?"

"What is it, honey?"

She pointed into the water, again with her left hand, still holding up her dress. "Mine iss ornge, Daddy," she said proudly. "Mine iss ornge!"