Today I accidentally declared war on a sink full of bubbles. And the bubbles won. It started because I decided to be responsible once and clean the dishes before they became tomorrow’s problem. A noble goal. A beautiful goal. A goal that lasted approximately three minutes before I somehow turned the sink into a foam monster. I don’t know how it happened. Actually, I do. The bottle said a small amount. I interpreted that creatively.

At first, the bubbles looked harmless. Soft little clouds floating across the water. Kind of pretty, honestly. Then they kept growing. And growing. And somehow multiplying. The kitchen smelled like fresh citrus soap while white foam climbed higher and higher toward the edge of the sink. Naturally, my solution was to add more water. Which was apparently the wrong solution.

The bubbles immediately expanded like they had been waiting for the opportunity. I tried pressing them down. That didn’t work. I tried scooping them away. That worked even less. Soon there was foam on the counter, foam on my hands, foam drifting across places foam had absolutely no business being. That’s exactly when Nolan knocked on the door. Of course it was. I opened it holding a dish towel in one hand and what looked like a small cloud in the other. He stared. I stared. A bubble floated between us.

“You’re using way too much,” he said. I told him I was handling it. A second later, more foam spilled over the edge. “It’s overflowing again.” “I noticed.” Apparently not quickly enough. While I kept trying to contain the situation, he leaned against the counter looking entirely too entertained.

“Slow down.” I rolled my eyes. Then immediately slowed down. Annoyingly, it helped. The bubbles gradually settled, the water calmed, and the kitchen stopped looking like a soap commercial gone wrong. Eventually everything was clean. Mostly. Okay, some bubbles survived. But only because they were stubborn. Not because I secretly thought they looked pretty in the warm light from the window.

Anyway, next time I’ll use less soap. Probably. Maybe. Or maybe I’ll try again just to prove I can actually keep everything under control.

Because the bubbles definitely aren’t winning twice.

— Laina 🫧✨🍋