Confessions of a germ-a-phobe

I just read a blog about a woman who is a germ-a-phobe (http://kersten4.blogspot.com) and I related so well to it that I just had to do some therapeutic blogging of my own. First of all, I don't think I have always been this way, but I'm not sure...and seeing how messy my house usually is, it doesn't make any sense that I would be. (At this moment, I have to laugh too. My son just wanted to use his sister's straw and she protested saying, "No! I don't want you to get germs on it!") I think this is a result of not being around little kids for a long time. When your youngest is four, you don't have to deal with leaking orifices like you do when they're babies. A few weeks ago, I babysat a 7 month old baby and it was a lot harder than I remembered. He started crying and in the midst of this cacophony, there was drool leaking everywhere and his nose was like the eternal fountain of youth and I was gagging, trying to wipe it all up with his blankie without actually looking at it. Each time I stemmed the flow, I would run and slather hand sanitizer on and then run back to bounce, coo, and smile to try to ensure that it wouldn't happen again...which it did.

This last week though, was just about more than I could handle. My friend had invited me to an indoor playground where our kids could play without having to freeze to death. I sat on the hard bench, waiting for her, backing up against the wall in horror as I watched what looked like hundreds of toddlers drooling and sneezing and swapping toys. My daughter was the oldest one there, and the most sanitary, but after my friend came something happened that my little person didn't notice in time. As she happily pedaled over to visit me on a tricycle, I noticed something laying in her path. Time slowed down as her wheels slicked over the pile of spit-up and it clung to the tires in a string as she unwittingly rode right over the top of it. My friend, noticing my white face and gagging reflexes in full gear, ran off for something with which to clean it up. My sisters have often taken advantage of my weak stomach, which has never been easier since we have all had kids. They would delight in taking the nasal aspirators and, waiting until they knew they had my full attention, try to suck out as much mucus as possible, pulling it out in a string. The demons. (o: It is so different with your own kids, and as much as I love my nephews and nieces, snot is where I draw the line.