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Posted: 2016-10-11T18:07:36Z | Updated: 2016-10-11T18:15:02Z

Yesterday, my son finished eating something and handed me the wrapper while cackling You are a garbage can!

He wasnt just being a 5-year-old a-hole. He was parroting what I say when he hands me his trash, which is usually something along the lines of Im not the garbage can!

Lets look at the evidence though.

Its not just my kid who hands me trash. Its everyones kid. If were on the playground and I share snacks with five kids, five kids will march back and hand me their snack trash. And I take it, unthinkingly. Sometimes I put it in my purse.

And thats the least of the gross stuff about being a mom. I used to know a mom who said she loved the smell of her daughters baby pee.

Parents are disgusting. Were not just disgusting, were unabashedly disgusting. I may have some shame about the following behavior, but not enough to stop. Theres just something deep inside me that drives me to roll around in my childs bodily fluids. Sorry. Not. Sorry.

Below, some evidence that I am, in fact, a garbage can.

1. I Wipe My Sons Nose With My Hand

A lot of people dont know this, but when you become a mom, your hand automatically becomes an absorbent tissue. At least thats the only explanation I can think of for why I regularly use the back of my bare hand to wipe snot off my sons nose. Half the time Im just sort of rubbing things around.

2. I Pick My Sons Boogers

My son still hasnt really mastered blowing his nose. So when it gets clogged in there, I just reach in with my hand and pull out his boogers. Its particularly satisfying when its a really big, crusty one that I pop right out. When he was a baby it was no big deal, but now that hes a little older, I have to sort of sneak attack him to get the good ones.

3. I Rub My Spit On My Sons Face

This is a move mom legends are made of. This is storied mom behavior. Again, now that my sons older, he protests when I lick my hand and use my spit to rub something off his face. Mom, thats gross! hell say, and I dont even try to argue. I agree with him that its really gross while having no intention of ever stopping. Is there an evolutionary reason I have no control over this?

4. I Have My Son Spit Chewed-Up Food Into My Hand

Weve all been there. Our kid decides mid-bite that they dont like something and we just silently stick our cupped palm out to receive their half-chewed food. Why?! How can there not be other options than this?

5. I Eat My Sons Leftover Food

Ive tried to scale back on this for fitting into my clothes purposes. But early on in the parenthood experience, I was always scarfing my kids half-eaten food instead of actually finding time to make my own meal. A lot of parents say they get into the habit of finishing their kids meals so they dont waste food. Yeah, youre a garbage disposal.

6. I Let My Son Wipe His Hands On Me

Whats that, Cheetoh dust? Yep, right on the mom jeans. Better you look cute and mom looks like an old moldy dumpster.

7. I Gladly Touch Vomit

My son is adopted and came to live with me when he was 7 months old, so I missed the worst of the spit-up days. But nothing makes you feel more like a real parent than cleaning up vomit.

Ive woken up covered in vomit and had to strip and change the sheets, bathe and change my screaming son, and clean myself through bleary eyes at 2 in the morning. Nothing like knowing that you are the sole person responsible for cleaning up all the puke to truly bring that Im in charge of a human thing home.

But thats nothing compared to the widespread phenomenon of parents actually catching vomit in their hands. One HuffPost mom calls it a disgusting gut instinct to cup her hands and catch her childs vomit.

The thing is, gross just kind of loses all meaning when youre a parent. Aside from the time I gagged a little cleaning a chunk of vomit out of my sons ear, I really dont mind his bodily fluids even changing diapers never really grossed me out like I expected it to.

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Apparently Im happy to wipe poop off testicles as long as Im doing it for a little person who relies on me. Garbage can 4 lyfe, yall.

Support Free Journalism

Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Support HuffPost