Cover That Up, Mister

In the grocery the other day, about 10 yards in front of me, a guy let out a huge, disgusting hack--not into the crook of his elbow, not into his hand, but right into the air where I wanted to look at soup. So I had to hold my breath while browsing.

On my way out of the store, I made sure to find the hand sanitizer dispenser and use it generously. Then I praised myself for taking my vitamins (multi-, Vitamin D, and fish oil) that morning.  

This is what the H1N1 "scare" has made of me.  

I'm not really a germophobe, and I'm probably still a few steps away from becoming one. But I do flush with my foot in public restrooms (except that I use my hands to lock and unlock the door so I'm not sure there's any savings in foot flushing). I wash my hands after spending any time in my kids' schools. I use my own yoga ball and mat in class. I'm kinda into the notion of not shaking hands as a greeting. And I've recently clued in on how many people potentially touch public pens. (I've packed extra pens in my purse now...do I need to pack my own stylus too for those touchpad screens?) 

But I don't yet open doors, dispense paper towels, or turn water on or off with my elbows. I don't leave public bathrooms with a paper towel with which to open the door and then drop the towel on the floor outside the bathroom as a clue to the store owner to put a trash can there. (Can you believe people actually do this???) And I don't sing "Happy Birthday" twice while washing my hands.  

So far this season, I've had only one quick sinus infection (compared with 10 weeks of issues last year). One of my three little darlings had what was probably the H1N1 flu for a week or so. Another had a two-day fever with no other symptoms.  And my compulsive diligent hand-washing daughter has dodged all major viral bullets but a few mild colds. So maybe something's working. Or maybe it's just early in the season. 

Of course, now that I've bragged, we're toast. So excuse me while I go sanitize our toothbrushes...