Eyes Wide Shut

A while back I noticed a weird occurrence when observing the behavior of Josh and Alex in both the swimming pool and the bathtub. When Josh goes underwater (both as a toddler and even to this day), he comes up out of the water and immediately starts to rub his eyes to clear the water. It never fails. I pour water on his head at bath time and the hands immediately go to his eyes to clear the remaining water from his lashes.

Ever since Alex started going to swim class (and at bath time), he comes out of the water eyes wide-open, letting the water drip right off. He may bat his eyelashes a bit but his hands never touch his eyes. Again, this is like clockwork and I notice it more when I pour water on him at bath time. It's fascinating to me that this behavior seems to be engrained in each kid from birth basically. I am just like Josh and always have been. I need to immediately rub my eyes after coming up from being submerged in water. Lori can't recall which way she normally acts post-submersion. I'm starting to think that this behavior is some hidden part of our DNA.

Loyal readers, do you usually rub your eyes after coming up from a swim (goggles don't count)? I'm interested if your kids have the same sort of behavior as Josh or Alex. I'm wondering if this contributes to the fact that Alex seems to enjoy the pool more than Josh does overall.