Everyone Poops

You know, everyone poops. And yet we all pretend we don't do it...that we're above it. Cats and even dogs get embarassed by pooping. Cats wait until they're alone and actually hide it and dogs, though they'll poop right in front of you, seem to hang their heads in shame. What is it about pooping that is so mortifying?

It always makes me smile when you hit that point in a relationship where you can poop at the other person's house. Sure you might take a match in with you or turn the faucet on full blast to cover any smell or potential noise (not that YOU are actually capable of either) - but at least you've gotten to that comfortable place where you can admit that, yes you do poop. But then just when you are congratulating yourself on being so honest and real, you realize that your significant other has thoughtlessly left you with very little toilet paper. Or, God forbid, the plumbing backs up causing instant, escalating panic.

A friend of mine has this book called, Everyone Poops. It's a kid's book that's meant to teach them not to be embarassed about pooping. That everyone does it from flies to florists. I picked it up out of, um, curiosity and found myself enthralled...then enlightened. Why, everybody poops! It's okay! Who knew?

I recently volunteered on a 5k walk (I'm no martyr, it's only like 40 minutes) for a disease called Colitis that attacks the intestines. People afflicted with the condition have frequent and sudden urges to poop. (I affectionately called our team the Ass Blasters.) Well, in order to avoid these symptoms, sufferers must take anywhere from 8 to 10 pills a day. I spoke with a couple of these people and I was surprised at how embarassed and reluctant to share their story they became when I asked. I mean, they were out in public, wearing "Guts & Glory" t-shirts to raise money for it! And still, the shame was evident.

But then I let my mind wander a bit, searching for the root of this shame. I began to think of the few people I knew who I've caught not washing their hands after going to the bathroom. The people who leave dishes in their sink for days on end. The people who let their dirty underwear lie on the floor, not bothering to pick them up when you visit them. I thought, what if we didn't have all this poop guilt? Would some of us fall prey to not flushing the toilet? To not bothering to close the door when doing number 2? Dear God! The sights! The SMELLS!

So while it's good to know that everyone poops, maybe we should just accept the shame that comes with it as just as natural. After all, it might even be better if we felt a little bit of shame for other things, like leaving those dirty undies lying around.