Being a dog trainer, I talk to perfectly normal adults about poop, poop habits, pee habits, poop consistency, odor, etc. more than I'd like, to say the least. However, it's part of my job and, the truth is, the people I'm talking to about these things are riveted on my answer. When you have a dog, poop and pee descriptives are fairly important. In fact, you don't have to be much of a dog person to think that way. When you have a dog in your house, at the very least, you are vested in that dog being successful on the potty training front. If everything else goes to shit, as long as they are... well... doing it in the right place, life is good.
So, I have really gotten over the embarrassment of having to ask a person, "so, was the poop runny or soft?" or "when they peed in your living room, did they lift a leg?" or "are they pooping routinely in a particular spot?" See? The ease with which I speak on this subject has really become my normal... that's not a skill I'm putting on my resume, but talking about the elimination habits of a dog in order to get the bottom of how to make them successful has been honed into an art.
But now, being a parent of two, I've reached a new level of communication, and I'm saying things each day that I never thought I'd say. Ever.
"Honey, please don't touch your brother's penis."
This one was a doozy and happened while they were bathing together. I had turned around for a second to pick something up and when I turned back, I saw my daughter with her finger out like ET headed towards my son's "junk". I mean, from her perspective, that thing must be kind of mesmerizing since she herself doesn't have one. Not to mention, he can't stop touching it, so she must wonder what all the excitement is about.
"Stop eating off the bottom of your boot!"
We were driving and I turned around to glance at my precious girl and what was she doing? Literally, eating the dirty, dirty snow from between the grooves of her boot. It made me seriously wonder about whether she's going to survive two. I mean, Darwin would be all over that!
"Don't eat your boogers! The bugs in your nose will bite your fingers!"
Now, I really need to give credit where credit is due. I got this from a friend of mine who has three boys, and she said that once she told them that, the picking and eating ceased completely. Unfortunately, my little one doesn't seem to be phased by the bug possibility. She may even dig more for a possible sighting.
Actually, truth be told, I was a little relieved in her lack of gullibility in the bug idea. She just might make it to three.
"Did you poop? Let me smell your butt."
Now, if you're a parent, this is very familiar. We've all done it. It's efficient in getting the answer you seek. It's just that if you told me I would be saying it before I had kids, I would have laughed you off.
"We only poop in the potty, not in the bathtub!"
This a was a dark and disturbing day. I had gone to brush my hair in the mirror when I hear, "Mom! Harper pooped in the bathtub." I turned around assuming he was joking. I was about to tell him that was the opposite of a funny joke, when I glanced down, my heart stopped, and this scene played in my head.
I quickly jumped to action scooping the poop out of the tub with my bare hand. (Hadn't really thought that through, but now I know I'd really throw myself in front of a bear to save my kids.) Frantically, I got them out of the tub and bleached it before getting them back in to scrub them within an inch of their lives. They thought this was a lot funnier than I did, so I'm hoping my reaction didn't scar them for life.
Fellow parents, care to chime in with things you've said recently that you never thought you would? Let's hear 'em!
