Germy?

Some of you may not be able to relate with me, because I'm quite the opposite of a germ-a-phobe. In fact, you may want to take a moment to decide whether you are or aren't before you read any further.

I find so much humor in watching germ-a-phobes with their odd, "rituals" that somehow convince their body & mind that they have just claimed victory over a germ. Little do they know... they just breathed another swarm of them right after they put the disinfectant away.

To give a real-life example: I mean, these people are opening the bathroom doors with their elbows and/or knees to avoid a hand coming in contact with the handle! I can't help but stare at the awkward, uncoordinated, dance-like scene that this creates. Didn't God give us hands for these types of tasks?! AND, if you think about it, they go back to their offices/cubes, put their elbows directly on their desk, where there hands also touch within minutes. Now you have the "bathroom handle scum" on your hands after all just like the rest of us... and I had a MUCH quicker bathroom trip. Not really worth it to me?

You either meet up with the germ back at your desk, or you successfully avoid these common germs and fall ill much more often from lack of exposure. Personally, I'd rather just grab the handle and stay immunized while they all call in sick tomorrow.

Are you still a germ-a-phobe? If so, you might want to just let it go... the germs will always win. Take a deep breath, and go for that handle with your bare hand. It's immensely freeing.

Purina has been warned...

Still half asleep, I was observing my tall-little dog chow down her "mornin' dinners" (my sister's dog-talk-name for our pets breakfast meal), when suddenly Piper began making odd, choking faces. I wasn't convinced that she was choking, but was sure something was out of the ordinary since she was no longer bent over in a french-kiss position with her food bowl.

Quickly giving in to my motherly instincts, I stuck my finger in her mouth, trying to scoop out whatever was in her throat... only to come out with three teeth marks to my knuckle which began bleeding a few minutes later. Yep, I took one for the team. Willingly. My mind was flooded with images of performing the Heimlich on a small animal, but I shook it off knowing that she was still getting air. As I reached in much more cautiously the second time, I came out victorious. She hadn't exactly been choking yet, but a "ball" of food, about the size of a golfball, had somehow formed. At first, I thought the food-ball was a result of having too much food in her mouth, so it meshed into a giant, squishy mass... but no, I couldn't even BEGIN to break this ball apart. Piper still wanted every last bite of her meal, so I chipped away at it with my sluggish, morning-strength while she attacked each chip of food that broke free. I am still unsure of how it all happened, but I'm concluding that the ball came to us (from the bag of food) in that form. Could I have sued if she really choked? Consider this my warning, Purina.

Later in the morning, my also sleepy-eyed husband commented, "Piper's been kinda whiney while you've been getting ready." I responded, "Yeah, she kinda choked a little, or something..." not sure what to call it. In the end, I was thankful that the only result of the 3-minute, dramatic episode was nothing more than a few whines.