Life Perspective...

Warning: This is DEEP

My hubby is out of town a lot lately and all these solitary nights have left me a lot of time for some deep introspection. Time to really ponder the true meaning and purpose behind my life. To really reflect on what it is that drives me forward. I came to a startling conclusion last night. I have come to the realization that life truly does take place in chapters. While we are travelling through a particular stage in life it feels like that stage will never end and it is hard to envision what life was like before we started that particular adventure. In retrospect there are some times of my life that seem like a completely different book. It feels so far removed from my present day situation that it hardly seems like it is me playing a starring role in that story... times like the care free days of high school, or my blissful days of lounging by the pool at the good old 'Riv' in Happy Valley, or yesterdays breakfast... seems like so long ago...

But I have come to a startling conclusion. One that was so simple so right in my face that I can't believe it has taken me all these years to see it. While life is made up of different stages each of these stages can be put into one of two categories: The stages where we are obsessed with poo and the stages that we are not.

Here me out on this one.

We start out life in a "not caring" stage. We go at will. Whether sitting in the bathtub, in church or 5 minutes after we FINALLY fell asleep after hours of rocking, swaying and begging from our mothers. We could care less (that one was for you Meili) about what kind of mess we made down there, but we sure broke a few eardrums alerting our parents to the treasure we had waiting for them.

Then we hit the toddler age and we realize poop is the coolest thing on the planet. Seriously. Nothing is more awesome to my 3 year old than feces. He needs his privacy when he poops, but you better come look at it when he's done. "Wow! That was a big one!" he shouts triumphantly. Think it's just a boy thing? Oh no, little Miss Thang is right there fighting for a spot to wave bye bye as we flush the #2 down the toilet. You don't even have to be in the presence of the foul stuff. There is nothing more hysterical to Mister Mischief that the word poop. It doesn't have to be in the context of anything. It doesn't have to come up in a conversation. We could be sitting in total silence and all of the sudden he shouts, "Poo Poo" and proceeds to have a spaz attack.

I think that the "Poop is cool stage" never really ends for most males. I need only one word to prove this theory: Blue Darts.

But for the rest of us we pass through that stage and the foul stuff is appropriately "icky" again.

Then we become parents. All that we have been taught goes out the window. "We don't talk bathroom talk", we don't "watch other people go to the bathroom", we don't "sing and dance when aforementioned person drops the Cosby Kids off at the pool" (sorry, I hope I didn't offend anyone with that one...). No, we forget all the good ettiquette our parents ever taught us when we become parents. Ever been to a mommy/kiddie playgroup? If you don't have kids, you are a dad, or you have held fast to the values your parents have instilled in you you may want to avoid that one. Yes, we mommy's take pride in talking about our childrens bathroom habits or dis-habits (this is my blog- I WILL make up words at will). Know what totally made my day yesterday? When I caught my 18 month old grunting and ran her to the bathroom in time for her to make her own little contribution to the Potty Fairies (wouldn't it be great if teeth weren't the only thing we got quarters for?!) It is a sad reality. But with two young kids, one almost done with potty training (except for at night) and one about (hopefully) to embark on it I definitely fall under this category.

I look forward to the day when I can once again be revolted by the thought of having to wipe another persons butt.