My Little Garlic Clove

Rachel has always like garlic, but recently she has become addicted to it. Instead of using a clove or two at a time, she is now buying economy-size jars of crushed garlic and including it in just about everything that she cooks.

The other day I detected the next-day garlic smell that often accompanies orientals who use garlic as a staple in their cooking. I mentioned it to Rachel since not everyone is enamored by the garlic smell. She replied that she was brushing her teeth and that should take care of it and by the way, “Please stay out of my business.” What I have come to realize is that if you eat enough garlic, the smell comes through your skin, not your breath.

When I walked into my bathroom this morning, the garlic smell greeted me. So I have a dilemma: Ignore the one-more-week-till-she-goes-back-to-school smell or say something once again at the risk of being labeled an intrusive parent.

No one ever told me about these kinds of situations when I signed up to be a parent!