‘The Squashbuckler Diaries’ are the daily tales of Joy Shelley’s Life in the Dream. The ‘Lost in Dreams’ books will tell the story of what happens to her at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and so on. The diaries tell us what happens before, after, and between the books.

#90: The Shower: Age 3

“I can do it myself!” Dragon Little tried to grab the showerhead from Dragon Father’s hands. 

He was giving her a shower and shampooing her hair. 

As always, the showerhead was not connected to anything but a very short hose that dangled in the air. Nonetheless, water still came out of it. In the Dream, the Dreamer has the power to create almost anything he or she believes to be true.

“Wait, wait, Joy--” he struggled to keep the showerhead from the three-year-old’s hands. “If you take it, soap will get in your eyes.” 

They were on the deck of Bonny’s Revenge. Dragon Little taking a shower was still an event that happened once every three days or so. It was no longer a fight whether to shower or not - it was a fight about how effective it would be if Dragon Little did it all herself. 

Dragon Little grabbed the showerhead from her father’s hand and aimed it at her sudsy, long blonde hair. 

“Joy, close your eyes, close your eyes--Oh, that’s good. That’s actually good. Oh, you forgot here,” he tried to aim the showerhead at a part she missed. 

“Me, me!” she said and grabbed it back. 

It was five minute battle to get her to get all the shampoo out of her hair. 

Dragon Little was growing, and even at 3 insisted on being more independent than her age warranted. 

—Told by The Red Dragon

#91: Showering Through the Ages, Age 4

#89: The Shower: Age 2