Life Lesson From Poop

Life Happens

I remembered a time when my daughter was only a few months old, I lowered her into the tub, and she projectile pooped all over the front of my shirt. Despite my brief initial disgust, I couldn’t help myself from laughing at what just took place. And hey, it’s easier than cleaning it out of the tub right? A few days later she was sitting on our kitchen floor in her diaper, leaned forward, and let one rip. I looked over at my wife and we burst out laughing yet again.

As I took a moment to reflect on these things (yes, my child’s poop and farts), I was reminded of an interesting aspect of life. As parents, we find these moments humorous because of our child’s innocence. But in a few years, self awareness and control will be an expectation, and what was once worth a laugh will only result in frustration or disgust.

The Bigger Picture

What stuck with me as a challenge, was something a bit bigger. There are expectations for our daughter to grow up, become an adult, and have enough self control to keep her poop in the toilet. But why does all of the humor in our mistakes disappear, along with any semblance of patience or grace? While I realize that a lack of self-control can be significantly more damaging and hurtful as we grow into adults, there is no shortage of small day-to-day mistakes we make.