I was not always germophobic. Once upon a time - when we had only 1 kid, I never took cover at the sound of a sniffle. Exposure builds immunity was my rationale. I put up a tough front.

Three kids later (four in total), I have done a complete 180. Why? Because there is no such thing as 1 sick child. Never.

Take the past 2 weeks for instance. Wednesday morning my oldest son announced that his stomach didn’t feel good. And then - Blah!. I will spare you the details.Translation: 2 days home from school plus 1 complete wipedown of the entire house, sheets and towels laundered, and all surfaces sanitized, courtesy of yours truly.

By Friday all was back to normal - and sparkling clean.

And then Saturday night, son #2’s tummy hurts. Blah! Déja vu. One sleepless night and 2 days later the house is once again scrubbed and son #2 is back at school.

But the saga continues …..

Wednesday rolls around again, and you guessed it, #3 and #4 down with the stomach bug. Sheets (once again, no details), towels, comforters, all being washed in our laundry room - apparently open for business 24/7.

Two days later and we are thrice again climbing out from under.

So, if by chance we should meet, you will forgive me if I scream in horror and run away if you should so much as sneeze.

Photo by tanakawho