Relative Evil

We’d just arrived in the Dominican Republic and were on the airport shuttle bus to our hotel.  The Husband was eating a muffin .  And worrying.  “I hope the ocean’s not too filthy.  Haiti’s on the west side of this island, you know.  They might be throwing all kinds of trash straight into the water.  Do you think they test it often?  I hope it’s safe to swim.”  As he was talking, half of his muffin crumbled off onto the floor.  He absentmindedly picked it up and popped it into his mouth.  Yes, he ate muffin crumbs off the floor of a Caribbean bus.

This misplaced concern reminded me of the day my mom phoned after she’d been watching a particularly scary segment on CNN.  “Are you being careful about the toys you’re buying for the baby?  A lot of Chinese imports might have lead in the paint.  And he’s at that age where he sometimes puts his toys in his mouth.”  That got my attention.  Was there lead in his painted blocks?  What about the train set?  I looked across the room at The Toddler.  He’d thrown his toys aside and was chewing on my pencil.  (This is the part where someone – there’s always someone, isn’t there?  – will point out that they don’t actually make pencils with real lead anymore.  For you,  I quote my father:  “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.”)

So, of course I’m concerned about ocean pollution and would prefer a pristine beach.  I care about toy safety standards.  I try to take a vague interest in things like ozone, lycopine, Vitamin D, ground water minerals, sulphates, and listeria.  But when it comes to worrying – I think it’s time we all went back to the basics.

Comments

[Maureen]

I'm worrying that I forgot what the basics were. I might need a refresher course and would be pleased it you would teach it.

(PS: doesn't the 20 second rule apply in the DR? If not, is it a shorter time-frame like 2 seconds?)

[Leeann]

Good point about the 20 second rule. But I don't think it applies on buses. Especially foreign buses.

[Sally Tubello]

I sterilized everything for my firstborn lest he should pick up "germs." When #2 came along, it's not that I loved him less, but I was just too damn tired to bother with my clean routine. Things that landed on the floor were fair game as long as they were scooped up quickly. And I usually just wiped his soother on my pants or stuck it in my own mouth when it needed a quick clean.

I think a little dirt and some garlic are nature's best immune boosters. Then again, I let my 14-year old buy a bondage jacket at Madame Yes because I didn't notice the straight jacket details until he got it home. I guess the Mother of the Year award is going to someone else this year :)