Teeth Brushing

The last blog entry I wrote was a very serious one.  It was important to me, very personal and now it's out there.  The thing is, how do I follow that up?  I didn't know what to say after that.  Could the blog entry after one about rape culture be one about shower farts?  I guess it could, but it didn't feel right.  So I decided to let that one sink in for a couple of weeks and then get back to shower farts.  Just kidding.  This won't be about shower farts.  However, the thing about shower farts is...

I noticed recently that Bash has been more active and in tune with his needs.  That's parent speak for this little maniac is entering the "Terrible Twos".  I have heard the horror stories, so I'm prepared for the worst.  The thing is, I think it's going to be fun.  I'm interested in how he's going to test the limits. I'm interested in how I'm going to respond when he has me on the brink of sanity and my patience has run low.  Swedie and I have functioned as a pretty good team thus far, but what happens when he catches us off our game?  I'm interested to know.

Now things are fun.  He's communicating with us more.  I'm trying to get him to speak English to me.  I think he understands that Daddy speaks this and Mamma speaks that.  He speaks Swedish mostly though.  I get super happy when he gives me some English.  He's at that stage now where he repeats things a lot.  I'm focusing on getting him to repeat things in Daddy's language.  The trip we have planned to the States in June should be an interesting test for him.  I wonder if he'll speak more English so he can be understood.  Will he notice that everyone's speaking Daddy's language?  So many questions.  This is exciting!

One challenging thing has been to get Bash to want to brush his teeth (or have them brushed).  This is  very important to me.  I don't want to be the parent of the kid with bad breath.  Or worse, rotten teeth.  That can't happen.  I have always been slightly obsessive about my dental hygiene.  I vividly remember the last time I didn't brush my teeth for a full day.  I was nine years old.  My brother and I were living in Chicago with my paternal grandmother.  My dad was supposed to be there with us but he was "working".  No telling what he was really doing.  I just know he wasn't there.  Anyway, Granny was taking care of us.  Granny didn't have teeth.  Well, she had dentures, so I guess she technically owned teeth.  Does that count?  Regardless, toothpaste understandably wasn't really on Granny's grocery list and it's not like we (my brother and I) thought to tell her the supply was low.  We had video games to play.

So we literally ran out of toothpaste.  We had squeezed the very last drop out of that tube, cut the container open, wiped that toothpaste out; I mean not a bit of toothpaste remained.  Now we were bone dry and Granny wasn't going to the store that day.  My mouth felt so disgusting.  Thankfully it was the summer.  We didn't have school.  I just sat around the house all day with a stank ass mouth.  Granny didn't go get toothpaste the next day either.  She shopped on certain days (Thursdays, if my memory serves me correctly).  Toothpaste wasn't important enough for her to change her grocery schedule.  She told us that until she went shopping, we could use her denture toothpaste.  I think we used it for two days.  I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff as regular toothpaste (at least I really hope so), but it felt so slimy and nasty and old people-ish.  I was so happy when she came back with REAL toothpaste.  I snatched that shit out of the grocery bag before the cereal.  And I LOVE cereal.

I never missed brushing again.  It helps that my dad came back with toothpaste and 'Pearl Drops', the super strong toothpaste that specialized in whitening.  He's always been into the importance of appearance and I'm sure he heard about the toothpaste debacle.  He was going to get our teeth back white ASAP.  I didn't like that nasty feeling in my mouth that you get when you don't brush.  The thick, sticky, pasty plaque and saliva mixed with the odor.  How can anyone not brush as soon as they wake up?

So I want to drill oral hygiene into Bash.  It starts with routine.  My strategy is to make it fun.  He tries to be independent, so I bring his dinner chair into the bathroom so he can look in the mirror and do what Daddy does (this Daddy will ALWAYS be there).  I raised my eyebrows once to get his attention and he started trying to do it.  This brushing session became extra fun.  I had to film it for Swedie.  Bash taking a break from brushing to raise his eyebrows like Daddy.  

He's the best.  He's to the point now that he understands it's necessary to brush.  He doesn't always like it, but it is what it is.  It's been fun for this year and 11 months.  Bring on the "Terrible Twos" Bash.  I think I'm ready for it.  As long as you keep that mouth clean.  Until next time...