Where do you brush your teeth?

What a silly question, right? I bet you brush your teeth in the bathroom. So do I.

But not my kids. Not anymore.

See, I feel incredibly claustrophobic and a wave of anxiety takes me from Mom to Monster in .02 seconds flat when I’m crowded in their little bathroom trying to keep cavities at bay.

I had this idea of setting up a toothbrush cup in the kitchen, where there is space, and letting everyone brush their teeth together, where I could breathe and be nice. It teetered around in my head for a while but I just kept thinking, “We’re supposed to do this in the bathroom.” Supposed to. Supposed to. Supposed to.

Until one day, I asked myself, “SAYS WHO?!” It’s not like we have company over that early or that late (if ever, honestly). It’s not like the kitchen is grosser than the bathroom for keeping toothbrushes. It’s not like brushing our teeth is getting anything dirtier than spooning food into our mouths. I did it. I made the plunge and made my toothbrush cup and started a new habit.

Guess what?

We brush our teeth more regularly, more consistently, and with less anxiety or morphing on my part.

So, what do you do in your life, because you are supposed to, that you would like to break free from? I’m not talking about sinful or not sinful things. Just societal norms that are a certain way, but don’t have to be. If there is a way that would make life easier, make something smoother, ease your family through a transition, or just flat-out tell anxiety, “HA, I don’t have to be locked in this tight space with 3 screaming, yelling, giggling, overwhelmingly energetic small people. And I can still clean their teeth! Take that!”

I often feel like I need permission for things – it’s silly, I have learned steps to overcome that mental roadblock, but it takes me a series of questions. If you need permission from somewhere or someone to do something that isn’t “normal” (but isn’t a sin issue, saying it again, you know, just in case) then I give you permission. I’m a mom, I get to do that. So take that permission and do something that makes your life easier, like brush the kids teeth in the kitchen, or ….. you tell me.

Until next time,