Being a mom, there are a multitude of bodily fluids that I have been “given.” From diapers that leak to full frontal liquid assaults, to date I have been peed on, pooped on, thrown up upon, sweated on, drooled upon, sneezed on, cried on and bled on. I have been a substitute tissue on occasion, and have had the honor of retrieving stubborn snotty mucus from sick children.
Thanks to all of this exposure, I see the world in a different way. No longer do most bodily fluids make me squeamish. I think nothing of wiping someone’s nose and sticking the tissue in my pocket or lifting up a child to take a good sniff and determine whether or not that child has had a bowel movement. Once in a while I’ll even catch myself using spit to clean someone’s face (spit is not soap, people!). This gets embarrassing when my husband’s associates come over and get pasta sauce on their chins.
My husband is the same way. Where we used to have discussions about the meaning of the universe and whether transcendentalism was really a movement or a natural literary progression, we now discuss the size, shape, color and odor of the various emissions that come out of our children’s bodies. It is not unheard of for him to excitedly call in the whole family to see the contents of a diaper.
I think it is hard for people who have never raised a child to understand this at all. How you can wipe under someone’s nose with a finger in an emergency (and carry antibacterial gel) before it drops onto that brand new velvet Christmas outfit. Or how despite three waves of vomit, you are still holding tight to your sick child (a bath towel on your shoulder or lap helps) while your spouse calls the doctor?
Has it made me a better person? I don’t know. Sometimes I miss my old naively squeamish self. But sometimes a Mom has got to do what a mom has got to do.
Excuse me now. I have a poopy diaper to change.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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