Once I’d been on a couple of dates with my boyfriend and I realized he was going to be sticking around in my life, our comfort level went from zero to 100 real quick. Some people cringe when they hear that we’re comfortable doing these “gross” things around each other but it works for us, so what do they know?
- Pooping with the door open I don’t poop while he’s in the same room with me—I’m not an animal, for God’s sake—but I don’t really see an issue with not shutting the door when I drop the kids off at the pool, especially if I’ve been killing the fiber game and know it’s going to be a quick stop and drop. Our bathroom is at the other end of the hall from our bedroom and living room, so this isn’t really a huge deal.
- Popping his pimples I know I’m not the only one who loves seeing that gross white sludge come out of a particularly juicy zit, right? My boyfriend isn’t riddled with acne or anything, but every once in a while he gets a huge whitehead that I get really excited to pop, and I’ve even had him do the same for me.
- Changing my tampon Don’t get me wrong, I don’t make a habit of this, but I’ve been known to do a quick tampon change when I was running late for work and my boyfriend was hogging the bathroom. It’s not as if he was staring at me doing it and he’s well aware that women have periods, so again, this was no big deal.
- Farting This should be a given. When you’ve been dating someone a while and you spend a lot of time together, chances are you’re going to need to fart at some point. My boyfriend and I got this out of the way early on when he ripped one on taco night. I have the sense of humor of a 5-year-old so I just laughed hysterically, and he did the same when I let one out later that same night. Everybody farts, so why be uptight about it?
- Burping This is another one that I don’t understand the fuss over. A lot of people would think loud belching is “unladylike” but I think it’s impressive, especially after I take a big swig of Diet Coke. My boyfriend and I sometimes have a competition to see who can burp louder and I’m pleased to say I’ve actually beat him on a few occasions.
- Smelling his armpits/having him smell mine Sometimes when I smell some funky BO and I can’t tell if it’s coming from me or the dude behind me in line at Target, I ask my boyfriend to take a whiff. He thankfully obliges and I can go on confidently knowing I’m not stinking the place up.
- Sharing a toothbrush Let me make it clear that this is done in emergency situations only. A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went away for the weekend and he forgot his toothbrush. It was late at night and we were at an AirBnB so there was no other option to get a new one at that point so I let him use mine. We swap spit and other fluids all the time, so what difference does a toothbrush make?