Competence: The Hygiene Hypothesis
Dutch hated moving. She told us so a number of times, and also repeatedly suggested that we move BACK to our old apartment. On moving day, she and I got a ride to our new home from our wonderful friends who helped us move, and after we all got out of the car, she refused to budge, saying that she didn't want to go to our new house. As I was exhausted and carrying a bunch of crap, I got pretty annoyed and more or less bodily dragged her across the street.
But she seems to have put all that behind her now. She's pretty happy here, and the main contributing factor is that in this apartment, she can easily reach the bathroom faucet and the medicine cabinet. Because of this technical breakthrough, she is suddenly enthusiastic about washing her hands and brushing her teeth. Her hatred of wiping her own butt is suddenly a thing of the past (she always demanded that Cook or I do it so she wouldn't have to have her hands washed), and she now carries out whole bathroom episodes without assistance, and with (as far as we can tell) reasonably decent hygiene. She brushes her teeth four or five times a day. (She is also an excellent spitter, thanks to special tutoring from Uncle Taekwondo.) She's just thrilled to be so independent, and we're thrilled to be leaving the butt-wiping days behind us.
But she seems to have put all that behind her now. She's pretty happy here, and the main contributing factor is that in this apartment, she can easily reach the bathroom faucet and the medicine cabinet. Because of this technical breakthrough, she is suddenly enthusiastic about washing her hands and brushing her teeth. Her hatred of wiping her own butt is suddenly a thing of the past (she always demanded that Cook or I do it so she wouldn't have to have her hands washed), and she now carries out whole bathroom episodes without assistance, and with (as far as we can tell) reasonably decent hygiene. She brushes her teeth four or five times a day. (She is also an excellent spitter, thanks to special tutoring from Uncle Taekwondo.) She's just thrilled to be so independent, and we're thrilled to be leaving the butt-wiping days behind us.
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