I used to mock germaphobes: “Ha! Look at that guy who washes his hands and then uses a paper towel to open the bathroom door. What a weirdo!” I wouldn’t say I was the total opposite of a germaphobe (because that would make me just dirty I guess). But I didn’t have germs on my radar. My theory was that since I rarely got sick, I must be doing something right. And maybe coming into contact with germs (like the ones on the bathroom door handle) were actually building up my immunity.
So I was living the germ-naive life until two things happened:
1. I had a kid.
2. I saw an episode of 20/20.
It feels like kids can get sick just by looking at a germ. And a sick kid is just miserable (for both the kid and the parent). So whenever Leo is battling something I think, “What made him sick? Was it the kids at the Y? Was it the grocery store? Was it that blade of grass he dragged in from outside? I’ll do everything in my power to prevent this from ever happening again!”
And that’s when I started going a little crazy with the Clorox wipes. I’m wiping light switches, remotes, counter tops, the high chair, all of Leo’s toys, doorknobs, the fridge handle, the trash cans…I think I might have Clorox wiped a dog who walked by.
I also got a hold of this cool hand sanitizing spray. I spray Leo’s hands and my hands. We say, “Spray, spray, rub rub.” I think we spray, spray, rub, rub about 23 times a day.
Speaking of hands, it was the 20/20 episode that got me on that band wagon. The reporter put his hands under a bacteria detector thing and his hands were gross! They had things on them that looked like fungi and algae and all sorts of other g’s.
Now I just assume my hands have all sorts of microscopic foreign matter on them. I wash them so much they’re all red and cracked.
I don’t enjoy being a germaphobe. I’m hoping I can go back to being just germ-aware after flu season is over. Then I’ll only wash my hands after using the bathroom and before I eat—not necessarily because I touched a doorknob.
But those Clorox wipes, I really like those. I don’t know if I can give those up. I might need a support group.
2 comments:
And then you also met Josh who is the true definition of a germaphobe. He changes his clothes after being at the movies, restaurant, any public place before sitting down on any furniture at home.
Ha! Movie theaters are pretty gross when you think about it. Great...another thing to add to my germaphobia!
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