Memoirs Of J

One thing I’ve always have a very strong aversion to is having unclean  hands, particularly hands that have just touched food so may be greasy.  Not only am I totally obsessed and OCD about washing my hands immediately – and I do mean immediately – after eating, I have this weird, irrational fear of someone touching me that has recently touched food.

So… you can only imagine that this phenomenon is probably, for me,  the hardest part of being a parent of a young child.  I am constantly following the tot around with wet wipes in hopes that I can prevent food slime from being spread everywhere (especially on me).  It makes me cringe when I let her eat something even slightly greasy – chips, fries?  Oh my god…  Today I took her to Wendy’s for lunch after a long morning  at the mall.  Yeah, fast food is horrible, I know, but she was very hungry and melting down so I needed to grab something quickly.  She got chicken nuggets and a few fries.  I was prepared for the sheen of grease on her hands, of course, but when she grabbed a pile of fries in her little fist and squeezed tightly?  I was not prepared for that.  I think it was actually dripping and she reached out to touch me – on the face!  I couldn’t throw napkins at her fast enough!  I encouraged her to eat faster because I was dying to get her to the restroom so I could scrub her with soap up to her elbows.

And people wonder why I tend to take a massive stack of napkins whenever I eat out…