Shifting Gross Out Goal Posts

Yesterday, I chronicled our journey through the body.  Along the way, I highlighted some pretty gross photographs that I took.  Becoming a parent has changed my life in many ones.  One of the biggest surprises was how my idea of what constitutes “gross” has shifted.

Back before we knew that B was pregnant for the first time, we did the “test the pee, see if you’re pregnant” test.  This particular test required B to pee in a cup and then hold the stick in the pee for a minute.  Since B had the job of actually peeing in the cup, it became my assigned task to hold the stick in the pee-cup.

Standing there, with a cup of urine in my hands, I felt wave after wave of nausea hit me.  The smell, sight and just plain idea of holding someone else’s pee make my stomach (and a few other internal organs) turn.  Luckily, I didn’t succumb to the nausea.  Even better, the test came out positive.

Fast forward a few years.  Did the idea of someone else’s pee in my hands disgust me?  Not at all.  In fact, I was quite comfortable relaying stories of the Day of the Seven Diaper Diaper Change (where NHL filled up diaper after diaper as quickly as we could change them) or of the Great Projective Pooping Incident (where his poop shot out 4 feet and then covered a span of rug stretching another 4 feet, timed right when we needed to head out to see a house).  I could even discuss these subjects in the middle of lunch (and be amused at the reactions of the non-parents within earshot).

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Has being a parent changed your definition of what “gross” is?

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the McLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #82