Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Hello, my name is Danna and I am a germaphobe

Ainsley 16 months old
(I have no idea what the black dot is on the wall.)

I used to not be this way.
This fearful of sick bugs, blech!
Somewhere along the way it happened though.
I became fearful of the sickies.

My younger self is probably rolling her eyes at my current self.

I am totally that woman at the store wiping down every square inch of my shopping cart.
Ok, maybe not that bad.
I wipe down all the parts that I *think* my kids will grab, lick or touch.
Yes, I just said lick.
I have a one year old, pretty much everything gets licked.

I really am that woman though, feel free to laugh.
I laugh at myself, then I grab another wipe and continue to clean.

K laughs at me, so believe me when I say that I won't be offended.

I can't really blame myself for my phobia.
I blame my sickie, asthmatic family.
You see, K has severe asthma.
Pretty much everything goes straight to his lungs and my poor hubs is hooked up to a breathing machine and taking steroids so he can breathe.
Adison has asthma too, she appears to be growing out of it, but home girl will cough for weeks after getting sick.
Like cough so bad that she has been sent home from school, even WHILE taking cough meds.
Ainsley she too suffers from it, hers isn't very bad but this child tends to wheeze.
Abby, I pray escapes this.
As everyone with an asthmatic loved one knows, this is some scary scary stuff.
I grew up with a severe asthmatic as well, my brother had it REALLY bad.
My mom used to have to sleep on his bedroom floor so she could make sure that he was breathing.
Seriously scary.

So, back to what I was saying, it really isn't my fault, right?
Just go with it, let's pretend, shall we?
I will confess though, that even while talking with a dear friend on the phone once she mentioned that her kids were pukey.
**Shudder, puking**
She knows me well enough to know that even from just talking on the phone I wanted to bathe in hand sanitizer.
I have *joked* about wearing haz-mat suits to protect us.
Yes, I also have an industrial sized bottle of hand sanitizer right next to my back door.
I realize that I *might* have a slight issue.
Can you blame me though?

11 comments:

  1. Awesome! I am too- oh well, safe then sorry! Your short hair was/is super cute too!

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  2. Oh man..I'm not so much a germaphobe..but I don't think that I've ever had reasons anything near to this to be one!

    Also - I'm REALLY glad that you weren't at my class with the health unit that talked about how dirty and gross everything and everyone is..LOL! You would have FREAKED out..really really REALLY bad!

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  3. I am a little bit of a germ-a-phobe. But it really depends on what and who it is. you know? But I also grew up with an asthmatic sister, Molli, and it is VERY scary. She would have asthma attacks, and I would be helping her get through it, CRYING myself. you know? And her also, when she gets sick, her coughing is the worst! So I agree. If most of my family is like that, I would be a germ-a-phobe too. Who knows, I'll probably become one when I have my own kids. lol.

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  4. Well first of all - you are not alone. I'm not a complete germaphobe. But shopping carts and basically things other people touch make me ill. Shaking hands with people at church? Oh shoot me now.
    Society (I believe) has also put the fear of being alive in us with all their commercials about how disgusting everything is. My main thing is shopping carts/baskets. The first thing I do when I get into my car is bathe my hands in hand sanitizer. And then when I get home, my hands get washed IMMEDIATELY!
    Don't know if you're an "Everybody Loves Raymond" watcher but there's an episode where this guy sneezes about 3 million times all over Ray and you would've thought Ray's life was over. He went NUTS. I'm pretty sure I would've, too, though.

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  5. I don't blame you with the asthma to worry about. I actually used to be less concerned about germs than I even am now. One year our whole family was sick for six months straight...now I'm a little more cautious! :)

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  6. I have little bottles of antibac everywhere...my desk, my car, my purse.. lol...I grab the wipes at stores and crazily clean all I'll be touching...it's not quite a sick issue for me, as I thankfully don't get sick often...but it's more of a yuck kinda thing...so don't feel bad, you're a mom that cares, and knows how crappy being sick is, especially that once one gets sick in the fam...the rest usually follow.. and that're more for you to care for!

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  7. I don't blame you, my sister wipes down every cart she uses and her child who was only breast fed at the time got salmonella probably from licking a spot on the carriage at walmart she must have missed! I have seen people put a package of leaky chicken straight into a basket in the cart! without even using a plastic bag to wrap it in. I am all for saving plastic bags but not at the cost of spreading a dangerous virus!

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  8. Love your honesty! I am sooo NOT a germaphobe, butI've had asthma since childhood--who can blame you when you want your kids to be healthy. Your buttons of those sweet sick children on the side are making me cry-I'd better go, but my prayers will go out.

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  9. My kids were mouthing shopping carts until they they had to lean out to get to them. So embarrassing. The new one is the right size to stand at the end of the cart and gnaw while "giving me good attention" as I tell him, "We don't do that."

    It is that time of year. The universe is like God's Petri Dish. I have to protect my family because of other people who don't take care of their own. I used to be a school nurse. People simply send children they know are sick to school because it isn't convenient to keep them home.

    Be empowered in your obssession!!!

    Stopping by from SITS

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  10. I have little bottles of antibac everywhere...my desk, my car, my purse.. lol...I grab the wipes at stores and crazily clean all I'll be touching...it's not quite a sick issue for me, as I thankfully don't get sick often...but it's more of a yuck kinda thing...so don't feel bad, you're a mom that cares, and knows how crappy being sick is, especially that once one gets sick in the fam...the rest usually follow.. and that're more for you to care for!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well first of all - you are not alone. I'm not a complete germaphobe. But shopping carts and basically things other people touch make me ill. Shaking hands with people at church? Oh shoot me now.
    Society (I believe) has also put the fear of being alive in us with all their commercials about how disgusting everything is. My main thing is shopping carts/baskets. The first thing I do when I get into my car is bathe my hands in hand sanitizer. And then when I get home, my hands get washed IMMEDIATELY!
    Don't know if you're an "Everybody Loves Raymond" watcher but there's an episode where this guy sneezes about 3 million times all over Ray and you would've thought Ray's life was over. He went NUTS. I'm pretty sure I would've, too, though.

    ReplyDelete