Friday, May 22, 2009

boys smell worse than girls

This is not opinion. It is absolute, indisputable fact ... observed over 25 years of parenting and now eight years of hauling kids in and out of college dormitories. Not until yesterday did I realize the startling difference between the sexes when it comes to odors.

Bill and I arrived at Katie's dorm (uh, residence hall: I don't know why the term 'dorm' is no longer in vogue) at 2 p.m. to begin the exodus of her belongings from room 103 to our minivan. Of course the mild temps of earlier in the week had vanished, as it neared 85 degrees. My nose dribbled, not knowing any difference between Ohio pollen and Indiana pollen.

I strolled into English Hall to find Katie. Perhaps two armloads later, it hit me. Or didn't hit me: that BOY smell. For seven years the unparalleled odors of a boys' dormitory in May revolted me no end. Dirty, orphaned socks. Overflowing, rotting garbage cans. Unwashed, maybe never-washed sheets. Definitely never-vacuumed rooms. Pillows that could walk out to the van on their own. Reeking tennis shoes and moldy towels. Yech.

So, yesterday in English amazed me. Oh, there were some bags of trash here and there. And a table of giveaway items by the front door. But most of the debris was orderly and definitely lacking any discernable odor. What a pleasure.

Don't get me wrong. I love my boys, and two or three of them are quite bearable. But a dormitory full? Hard to take.

Give me the scent of a gaggle of girls!

1 comment:

klrodman said...

maybe that's why Daniel didn't want me in his dorm....