The germaphobe in me

Yesterday after institute Aubrey and I (and both boys) went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some yarn for a project I'm working on. We got back home and we're talking about Christmas presents (I know, it's not even Halloween yet!) when Parker comes up with a used floss pik (really gross). Parker says "this is mine!" Aubrey repeatedly tells him to go throw it away. He disappears behind the dumpster, we thought he was throwing it away so we go back to talking about our plans. Then Parker reappears again still holding the pik runs up to us and proceeds to stick it in his mouth. Immediately my germaphobe self clicks on and I quickly grab the pik out of his mouth and throw it in the dumpster. I found myself scolding (in a nice voice, I don't know a better word for it) him and telling him that was nasty, disgusting and dangerous.

Then today, at aerobics when we were doing stretches on our mats, Ethan comes running up to me sticking something in his mouth. I grabbed him stuck my fingers in his mouth and pulling out a very slimy piece of plastic. It looked like a tag from a shirt or something, not as gross as the floss pik, but still who knows where it came from.

Both times I grabbed nasty garbage out of the kid's mouth I kept remembering this one scene from the movie "Look Who's Talking Too" when two mothers are in the park with their boys and one of them comes up to the mother holding some nasty piece of garbage that looked like hazardous waste from a hospital and the mother freaks out and starts yelling at the kid. She grabs her wipes and starts cleaning off the kids hands. That's how I felt these two moments.

The interesting thing about these two incidents is that I've never done that before. I'm not the kind if person who would interfere with another person's kid. Although, with these two boys I've spent a lot more time with them so maybe I'm more comfortable around them and that's why I did it. The other weird thing about these incidents is that I am an extreme germaphobic so touching nasty garbage let alone kid slobber is gross to me. I don't even like the idea of changing poopy diapers or vomit. People tell me that it's different with your own kids which makes sense- you know where that poop's been. Although I love Aubrey, she's very honest and says it grosses her out still even after having two boys. It's her least favorite part of having a baby.

As much as I'd like to think that my germaphobia is slowly dwindling and that poop and vomit will no longer bother me and I might just one day sit down and change a baby's diaper with out gagging, I have a feeling these two incidents were flukes. But who knows, maybe God is slowly preparing me for twins where I'll have double the diaper duty. I'd gladly take double duty if it meant two little babies. :)