The husband confesses that Harper's birth 6 years ago unleashed in him a germophobia that had, until then, been pleasantly latent. He started buying Purell by the gallon and invested in this hand-held steam cleaner that became, for awhile, an extension of his arm. If I remember correctly, I believe he might have even steam cleaned ME on more than one occasion. I can't pinpoint an exact moment that his germ paranoia began to lessen somewhat, but the steamer has been gathering dust for probably 3 years now, and, even though he still carries Purell with him at all times, he doesn't douse the kids in it quite as frequently as he used to. One prohibition that could be carved into the family decalogue (we don't actually have one, but it's kind of an intriguing idea) is this: THOU SHALT NOT DRINK FROM WATER FOUNTAINS EVER. We don't ever break this one. It's annoying to always have to remember to bring water everywhere we go, and yes, I do on occasion forget, and the kids stay thirsty until we get home or I will (rarely) buy a bottle of water if it is particularly hot. And yes, the kids do look longingly at other kids whose parents let them partake (the one inside the lion's head at the zoo is a particularly coveted experience, I imagine). I know it's a combination of factors, and I hesitate to even write this because I realize that if I do, they will all wake up tomorrow vomiting in unison, but they've been CRAZY healthy thus far. Between all three of them, we have had a single sick visit to the pediatrician (Hudson, when he was around 2 and I thought he might have the flu. He did not.) The flip side is that one of the kids is a mite more concerned than she probably ought to be with hand washing, and, one day when she made the choice to bring a small stuffed animal to the park (with the reminder that this choice meant sharing) she had to share with a little boy who, adorable though he was, seemed a little gritty and runny-nosy. Handing him over caused a look of actual pain on her face, and when she got him back she held him between two fingers like he was Infested. Then, as soon as we got home, she took him directly to the hamper. If she knew about autoclaves, I feel certain she'd have asked for one for her birthday. She has not, incidentally, asked to bring any stuffed animals to the park since then. And yes, I do know all about the studies showing kids who live on farms and who, as they play and work, eat lots of dirt laced with fecal matter etc. and therefore have heartier immune systems. That would be my underlying reason for playing at public parks. It's as close as we can get to replicating Farm Reality here in the big city. Hopefully minus the fecal matter, but possibly not. The husband is no doubt reading this and planning to unearth the steam cleaner when he gets home.
Well, I wrote that paragraph around 6 weeks ago and never posted it, and since then, we've had two bouts with stuffy noses. But not from drinking in water fountains.
There's been lots of dressing up at our house lately. Batman and his pet giraffe came over for tea:
Even Helena has decided to join in. She is very big on layering:
Harper did not like this at ALL, even though it's been at least a year since she's even taken any notice of it:
I think it is a truth universally acknowledged that stuffed pumpkin costumes,
if they can't be with the one they love, will love the one they're with. Fickle gourds.
1 comment:
Wow - no pediatrician sick visits. All that money saved. We, too, avoid public water fountains, but - alas - how do we handle that at E's school? That said, I was the one who got strep this year, and not her, forcing me to miss chaperoning her class field trip to the zoo. She continues to bemoan my absence.
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