Habits
I remember a discussion several weeks ago in one of my Discord groups about habits we developed from childhood; my example was a weird one: the way I exit a shower. I step out one leg at a time - the first leg is on the shower mat, at which point I'll stretch to wherever I put my glasses; I'll put them on, and then I can step out of the shower. And it's always the left leg first, regardless of the set up. I try to do this wherever I am, whether it's at home, or in a hotel.
So why the heck do I do that?
As I alluded to it traces back to my childhood. My brother and I watched a lot of movies growing up - they were usually on TV in some form, and generally our parents didn't really take notice of what we were watching. Often we'd watch things that probably weren't appropriate for me to watch (my brother is 4 years older than me, so they were probably fine for him). Although, my father once watched Gremlins with us when I was very young while my mother was away somewhere, so we probably wouldn't get in trouble for watching anything "inappropriate"1.
Anyway, one afternoon my brother and I watched Tremors. If you're not familiar with this movie, it's about a group of people living in a small town in Nevada terrorized by giant underground worms2. They are attracted by...noise and vibrations I guess? They seem roughly based on worms in Dune, but they have nothing to do with spice.
There are several scenes where to get to safety, they have to stay off the ground, climb on rocks, stay very quiet, etc. So I think this is where my weird habit started.
Somehow, in my early 90s childhood brain, I convinced myself that in order to be "safe" from these worms while getting out of the shower, I had to have my glasses on. And that I couldn't have two feet outside of the shower without my glasses on. One foot was OK as long as it was quick enough that I could grab my glasses.
How does this make any sense? I don't know. It doesn't. But ever since, that's how I exit the shower. One leg at a time.
Got any weird habits from childhood? Send me a note!
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