Here again, you'd be wrong.It appears that I have become just the teensiest obsessive this winter about germs. Just a little bit. Never mind that my kids are comparing me to Monk (who was brilliant with the whole carrying around of wipes idea - just brilliant). I'm much more normal than Monk. I'm not even afraid of milk...yet.
I blame this new phobia directly on the persistent cough and resultant broken rib that I had exactly one year ago. After that episode, I made a vow that I would not cough this year. At all. That I would do whatever it took to keep from coughing. 
And I do not take my vows lightly.I was never the sort to carry hand sanitizer. I now have two of them with me at all times. My hands should come with one of those paper strips across them like hotel toilets that says "Sanitized for Debbie's Protection".
When I sub in technology lab and 25 little ones parade in every45 minutes to type on those keyboards, I stand at the door and squirt every little hand as it walks into the classroom. If the teacher I am subbing for is out sick, I get there early and swab down the desk and all articles on it. I'm a combination sub and custodian.
Everything was going along relatively germ-free until now. My husband is sick. (Oh, I could hear the groans of every wife out there. Thank you for your support and sympathy.) It isn't so much that he is whining and incapable of taking care of himself. It's that he is a germ factory. How am I supposed to live with that?
I got up early today to wipe down where he sits and all the surfaces he has been touching. I'm obsessive but I still didn't want to offend him.Monk was so smart to live alone.
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98 comments:
Darn the germs!!! And sick husbands are the worst!!! Good luck staying cough-free!!!
You have two hand sanitizers? Is that one for each hand, or just to ensure that you can find one in your handbag?
LOL!! Me TOO!!! when I was a teacher I was much worse!! and my hands were so dry as a result!
Love Monk! Love your posts!
Stay well.
You´re doomed.....!
My husband came home sick and I wiped down and sprayed but it did no good - I've got the crud now. Good luck to you!
Better to be safe than sorry...did you really break a rib coughing..Holy Shit..? I would do anything to avoid that...stay Well..and germ free..!
try being a microbiologist and a teacher in the same day ;) I'm doomed to monk-ish tendencies :)
Buuuut - when you kill germs there will be new, monstrous, multi resistant ones instead! With big teeth!
I sympathize completely with you on the sick husband, but I must confess I am completely on the other side of the pendulum with the germs.
It isn't like I am not careful, I wash my hands after the bathroom and often through out the day (now public bathrooms gross me out). However, I do not own one bottle of hand sanitizer. I made it through all of the swine flu season without getting sick & it was only until a couple of weeks ago that I caught a small 48 hour bug. Plus not one of my kids have been sick this year.
Sparky's kids have had a cold here and there, but that is it.
I would probably jump on the germ bandwagon if I was a nurse or worked in a school or nursing home, but I don't.
While I understand the need for hand sanitizers I am also a believer in building immunity by being exposed.
All that being said, I think I am the minority on this issue.
Good luck with the sick hubs!
When the drs told me I had pnuemonia, Honey wanted to spray me with Lysol!!! Really?! So, I live with Monk, wipe away it doesn't hurt my feelings - cause someone else is cleaning which means I don't!! Good all the way around!!!
Man-flu is the worst.. much worse than mere germs... ;-)
Well, when the husband's ill, there's no hope for the rest of the family, especially the wife. If nothing else she tends to get worn out running around the house for him!!
CJ xx
Oh, that made me laugh!! As one who does absolutely nothing to prevent germs except wash my hands, I admire your tenacity. I don't get sick though and maybe if I did, I'd be more diligent. I love Monk! Stay healthy!! Hugs, Silke
Hilarious! Poor hubby. I'm a rubber glove lover actually. I work in an ER and get coughed, hacked, barfed on constantly. I've started to wearing a face mask as well.
It's acceptable at work....at home? Not so much.
Love your blog.
you are my coworker. She bathes herself and her child in Purell!
I do this on the plane for sure. Have a great day.
I NEVER use hand sanitizer. I am convinced that I will be around with the cockroaches during the nuclear bomb. All of my coworkers who use it are the ones who are sick the most!
But, I do wash my hands with soap and water. Just sayin'.
You could quarantine him.
Or you could let yourself be exposed and continue building up that immune system of yours!
Oh! Oh! Man down...man down!! Not good at all! I can hear him now! My sympathies dear one!
As for hand sanitizers..well I have one by the front door...use it upon entering!! LOL
Hugs
SueAnn
The first picture is hilarious!
That was awesome! I'm so with you on this. And it's gotten worse for me - you should see me on an airplane!
***Ally
My husband has a cold right now and I want to reach across the table and choke him when he coughs, sneezes etc without covering his mouth. I swear I can see the germs mid air.
Ouch! (breaking a rib coughing sounds painful!) Hope you are successful in your quest to remain cough-free.
Oh yes, husband not feeling well. My sympathies!
Debbie, how it feels like to be the best blogger around? Yeah!
Man down not good at all.
Betty xx
You wouldn't want to come near me then.... I got sick on the last day of vacation. Completely miserable.
Seriously, though? Cracked rib from coughing? (trying to stop the cough as I'm typing this)...
When my hubby is sick I will remind him to wash his hands every time he sneezes and not to kiss the kids etc. He thinks I'm crazy and melodramatic! Maybe I am, but I will do just about anything to keep the rest of us healthy!
I'm a tad obsessive about germs this year also, but so far I haven't gotten the flu, so it must be working! And my boyfriend DID have it.
You are probably very smart. My son's teacher was out for two weeks with the swine flu!
However, my crazy husband was raised by a crazy mother who actually followed him around spraying him down with Lysol. Which I think may have contributed considerably to his aforementioned craziness. Imagine what she'd have been like if she'd had wipes!
Your funny but smart! I hope you get out of this germ fest germ free!!
Yeah, 35 little germ factories and their parents ooze through my living room every week. I'm pretty much doomed. Probably have avian-swine-testicular-portuguese flu by the end of the month. I just know it.
I am so with you on that one! Unfortunately I have turned my kids into OCD freaks also!
Quarantine him to one room. That's what I'd do.
I'm sayin' sister, I do the same thing when Hubby drags in a virus. I tell him, don't want it, don't have it and not gonna get it!
God bless and have a glorious day avoidin' the crud!!!
Oh we've had a few "plague on our house" days this winter and I can totally understand your feelings here!
The older I get, the less tolerant of germs I become:-)
I thought I had avoided getting sick after both my girls had been sick...but alas it came anyway. As soon as I was better though I bleached anything and everything trying to get rid of germs. My hubs did not get sick...he is so lucky to have me
Oh I so get that! But I thought I was bad... :-)
I wiped down everything my aunt touched after she came to visit me in the maternity ward and said she'd just come off her shift in the gastrointestinal ward of the same hospital - and hadn't changed her clothes!!! And I didn't dare to tell her not to touch my baby. That still hurts, over two years later.
OH, the Man Flu!!!! Oh dear.
I managed to miss all the flus and colds that came through...by RELIGIOUSLY avoiding touching my face. Any part of it.
Good luck!!
A sick husband is about as bad as a sick child. They never think about containing their germs. Good luck!
yes germs can be nasty but no matter how careful u are someone will pass them on to you, interesting post top pic scarey lol
Not overly obsessive at all! I can't get thru a day without many habdwashings, I avoid public germs at all costs, using extreme measures. But I hardly ever get sick. It's the right thing!
Secretia
OH that sounds just like me this past week!!! My husband is sick ( and just this minute sneezed without covering his mouth OMG) and I kept waking him up making him roll over so he wouldn't breath on me! good luck with not coughing!
I am kind of a germaphobe myself! I get paranoid when someone coughs or sneezes or even breathes too close to me!
LOL..oh my gosh, I'm picturing you following him around and wiping everything down he's touched. :)
lol. Stupid germs...
I hope your husband gets better SOON. :)
Hey, don't apoligize for not wanting to get sick! I'm pretty aware of this too. At thelibrary last week, we had a women give a presentation to our staff and she had pink-eye, which she said she'd caught from her husband. And she kept wiping her eye with a cloth and handing out papers to all of us. I thought I would Die!!!
I am laughing....I just got over the "crud"....and my sweet husband was so patient with all my coughing, sneezing and nose blowing....such a great guy!.smiles.
ummm... you might not like it here where I live...
buy one of those painter's masks to wear and keep washing your hands religiously and you should be fine. i hate germs, too. i have sanitary wipes in my purse and hand sanitizer. i also have a set in my car to use after pumping gas, going to the grocer's, petting my dogs, shaking people's hands, etc. i'm definitely not like Monk, but probably pretty close. i don't open doors with my hands so i have to get creative. take care.
I enjoyed reading this post, Debbie. My husband loves to watch Monk. He used to scold me as being Mrs. Monk. :)
I understand your point... really...
You could always send him to a hotel . . .
My family calls me Monk and I am flattered. I even carry Sanitizer in my car so my child can take of her "school cooties" before we get home...I never understand why people at work become offended when I wipe my phone with Sani-wipes and spray my area with Lysol. I think they're lame for not doing the same...You Go Girl!
The answer is Echinacea. Works for me. Or maybe it was 30 years of child care and now I'm immune to everything.
Those stupid germs! Don't they know any better? You are off limits! When will they learn?
www.angiemuresan.com
Yeah, if you subbing for a sicky, ick, you've gotta clean off that desk!
As I read this I hear the coughing of my youngest that's so bothersome it's keeping him awake - so I'm feelin' ya HAHA!
I am a germaphobe who has my little lysol wipes everywhere in my house. I could care less if they are in plain view. Kids are gross and I am very weary the germs mine have, lol! I love people like you, good work SS!
The Girl from the Ghetto
I think everyone is just a little more cognizant these days of who is coughing around them and where germs may be lurking. The Swine Flu gave us all a good scare. Hand sanitizer is a new accessory for me this year! Breaking a rib while coughing is no fun at all. Stay well!
You aren't alone... I have the same compulsions....I am a self proclaimed sanitizer addict.
I have a six year old and a three year old. My six year old loves to come home from school and tell me who threw up, who was out, who has a runny nose, who went to the nurse, etc. I think I could bathe my sons in hand sanitizer daily and they would still get sick :-)
I am a hand washer, but not so big on the sanitizer. I think maybe it is time for you to take a short vacation.....by yourself.
I hope he feels better soon! And I LOVE that you have avoided a cough thus far. It's practically over right. I think you are going to be safe!
I loved Monk's apartment.
lol. HOpe you remain germfree. :) I keep sanitizer in each car, my purse, first aid bag - yeah, everywhere, lol.
My 6yo runs around saying his Dad is obsessed with sanitizer and when I use it he says "now you are too." We have started carrying it around as well and even casually used it after we shook everyone's hands in church. Terrible.
OK, that first photo is AMAZING. :)
That cracked me up.. My husband is a germ FREAK!!! He is totally obsessed... And I gotta tell you...this year he has been twice as sick as the rest of us.. haha Watching him makes me laugh.. SEE that's they good part of germ fobes... they bring JOY to the rest of us. ha
Staci
I'm with you and my OCD is just banging just reading this. Okay gotta go - I need a shower now
A sick husband, boyfriend, or just any old man is H*E*Double Hockey Sticks (as my boys would say).
I probly should be more concerned about germs...I tend to not think of them ever. And I don't ever really get sick, so I won't change yet. Maybe when I have kids to worry about:)
Bottle of lysol spray him and the house maybe him a few times! Then seal off the room and make him stay until he's well .... LOL. Food can be slid under the door right ... :)
I have little bit of this germ phobia...I just know someone else will make me SICK.
Your husband has The man cold...did you see this you tube video? FUNNY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXLHWmjA5IE
I think being a germ-a-phone is becoming an epidemic. I rub my hands all the way up to my elbows with sanitizer and when people see me - they ask to borrow my sanitizer. Freaky.. but I can't stop using sanitizer. You're not alone!
what a blast of sterile fun!
lol!!!
Oh, man! When my Boo gets sick, it's almost like having 911 on speed dial. This big, strong man shrivels into a whiny kid exclaiming how "near death" he is.
I am like you...I prefer to sanitize everything in sight just to keep him from getting sick.
I've become a major germaphobe after having kids. I look back on some of my old habits and about pass out!
Deb!!!!
My heartfelt cyber support is sanitized and sent.
i do hate it when the hubs gets sick, recently i banned him to another room to avoid his germs!!! and why is it men are so freakin' helpless when they have the sniffles yet women push babies out their hoohas?
Cameron
www.conquerthemonkey.com
My hubby hates it when people get sick around here...he says normally I'm a "germaphobe" but I turn into "super germaphobe" when people get sick...and that if I could I'd probably walk behind everyone and spray them with Lysol. Hope he gets better soon!
I'm weird about germs too.
I second Betty's comment ;)
You crack me up!! I love your blog and your cute photos to go with your stories.
I'm pretty OCD like Monk, but thank goodness the germ phobia isn't a part of it! I hope you stay healthy. Tea works great!
When the teens get sick is when I go into overdrive mode, killing bugs and germs and insisting they stay in their rooms - quarantined until it passes...
Getting thier germs beats my body up!
you and me = separated at birth
Whenever I hop in the car after visiting any place, the first thing I do is to use the trusty hand sanitizer, although now that I think about it, I should really be using it BEFORE touching the car handle...
You know what grosses me out... is when you go to use hand sanitizer and the bottle that has been refilled a thousand times is disgusting.... ewwwww! like the one in my daughters hallway at school... or the ones inside the door at the grocery store... yuck! lol!
Just Jenn ~ Seizing My Day
I am currently dealing with a sick husband too. Poor pitiful thing. And he's a bit pitiful too. :) I am not afraid of offending him with all the Lysol and whatnot, after all who'd take care of him if I were sick?
Do they make a portable Lysol size can? That would be nice.
I go with the "dirt makes my immune system stronger" and I like it alot. :0) It saves me a lot of dusting time.
Oh, yes, you're welcome for the sympathy. May the illness be short and painless and non-spreading.
I laughed SO hard at your post because I.AM.YOU!!
My sons call me Monk, in all seriousness. I carry wipes in my purse and in my car, I also have two bottles of hand sanitizer in my purse. I even gave them as stocking stuffers this past Christmas.(Swine flu was rampant!!)
I have even broken a rib from coughing when I had pneumonia once.
My hubby is the WORST when he is sick - and he is the first to admit it, OK second to admit it, I am the one who first complains about it!!
(Loved the photos in the post!!)
Ahhh, a girl after my own heart, lol. I use Purell like I use air, lol.
I also take garlic pills and so far SO GOOD!
You really can never be too careful! And I love that they have clorox wipes for the grocery carts now. *sigh*
A sick HUSBAND? gasp......I am so so so sorry! I would much rather have every single one of my kids sick while I am sick and puking my guts out and have to take care of them than a SICK HUSBAND! Sick husbands SUCK!
Brandy ~ Not So Average Mama . com
I am like that too. I have OCD majorly!haha I am your newest folllower! I found you through Friday Follow!
http://www.gigglingkids.blogspot.com
Hope your hubby is feeling better and that you were able to stay healthy!
As BFF to someone who did bruise a rib last winter from all of the coughing, I TOTALLY get this. And for the first time ever, when we boarded our plane from Phoenix to Chicago yesterday and there was a woman in a 2-way mask, I did NOT laugh at her. And sort of, in a very Monk way, was intensely jealous. I wish you all the best of luck. And I completely agree that it's more desirable to deal with a husband's whining about being sick instead of catching the actual sickness yourself.
You can never have too much hand sanitizer.
Girl, I got the cold to end all colds last week & it is STILL in my body. My 4 year old got pneumonia from this particular germ on top of a double ear infection that he shared with his little sister. Sanitize sanitize...SANITIZE! And I spray my husband with lysol while he sleeps. It helps with the germs & makes him country-fresh. ;)
Do you sleep in separate beds when he is sick?
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