Germ-a-palooza!
This post could also be titled, “An Exercise in Futility”:
It started a few weeks ago with menacing signs popping up at the kids daycare. “A case of strep throat has been reported in your child’s classroom…” read one. “…case of pink eye…” read another. “…bronchitis…”, …”roto-virus…”, and the dreaded “…Influenza…” At first, it was just a couple of illnesses, but now the signs are multiplying faster than wet gremlins.
Then came the cancelled playdates with their friends outside of daycare. Pink eye, fevers, and stomach flus galore.
So far, Emma and Owen have escaped with mere colds, which developed into an ear infection in Owen. I’m not sure how long we can keep dodging the germs, but I’ve made it my mission to try to avoid what seems to be inevitable.
That’s where the fun starts. Those of you who know me personally know all about my obsessive compulsive tendencies and my love of cleaning. So it’s no surprise that I’ve gone over the top with my disinfecting efforts. So far today, I’ve disinfected light switches, remote controls, doorknobs, matchbox cars, banisters, countertops, the laptop, and every other surface I can think of that gets touched on a regular basis.
This morning, the kids were begging to go to the library. All I could think was “Germs!” Oh, the humanity! I relented, but when we got home, we washed our hands immediately, then used hand sanitizer. Then, I wiped their hardcover library books with a disinfecting wipe.
Owen is so tired of this routine that he cries when he sees the hand sanitizer bottle in my hand. He doesn’t like the cold feeling on his hands while it’s drying.
My husband works with germ-infested college students, so I’m going to make him take a bath in Purell tonight before he’s allowed to touch anything in the house.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go flip the light switch exactly 53 times.