Exposure Therapy
My name is Monica, and I have a problem with public restrooms.
There - it is out in the open. Ahhhh....
But seriously, I do have a problem with public restrooms. They are germ factories at best, and it just goes down from there. When left to my own devices I touch as little as possible: I never EVER touch the toilet (except to flush), I never touch the counter or sink, and after I've scrubbed I refuse to touch any surface with my hand. I use a paper towel to turn off the water and to open the door as I exit, and ideally would still like to use some sort of hand sanitizer after leaving. Just to be sure. Some people have nightmares about public speaking, or finding themselves naked in front of a crowd... my recurring nightmare is that I am in a filthy public bathroom, I look down and... I have no shoes.
Colin is going to either cure my problem, or send me into full-blown OCD. As I mentioned we're making incredible progress with his potty training, but along with the good news comes the bad: a toddler who has to use public restrooms. To make matters worse I don't get any break in this because if we're ever out my darling husband insists that I always take Colin since "we have a system" (whatever that means)!
So we head into the bathroom, I try and find a clean stall, and get on with the business at hand. In-out-done. Colin has a different process. He likes to look around. He wants to touch everything (including the toilet bowl itself). He squats down and inspects things on the floor... and might try and pick something up. Piddling isn't too bad since he is (thank God!) a boy, but if he has to sit for #2 he has this weird habit of leaning waaaay back, basically laying on the toilet bowl with his head against the flush-mechanism. When we're finally done we head out and I have to lift him up to wash his hands. To get soap and turn the water on/off I often have to prop him on my leg, and he leans up against the (typically filthy) counter, again touching every-freaking-thing.
This all makes me want to take a scalding shower and scrub my hands raw with a bristle brush.
Trying desperately to not pass on my neurosis to my son I have thus far very bravely endured the bathroom encounters. I haven't screamed (at least out loud - in my head doesn't count), I praise Colin profusely every time for going potty, and have thus far refrained from carrying around an industrial-sized bottle of bleach to disinfect every bathroom upon entry. But I have to tell you, it has been hard. Very hard. Very, VERY hard.
Please pass the Purel!
There - it is out in the open. Ahhhh....
But seriously, I do have a problem with public restrooms. They are germ factories at best, and it just goes down from there. When left to my own devices I touch as little as possible: I never EVER touch the toilet (except to flush), I never touch the counter or sink, and after I've scrubbed I refuse to touch any surface with my hand. I use a paper towel to turn off the water and to open the door as I exit, and ideally would still like to use some sort of hand sanitizer after leaving. Just to be sure. Some people have nightmares about public speaking, or finding themselves naked in front of a crowd... my recurring nightmare is that I am in a filthy public bathroom, I look down and... I have no shoes.
Colin is going to either cure my problem, or send me into full-blown OCD. As I mentioned we're making incredible progress with his potty training, but along with the good news comes the bad: a toddler who has to use public restrooms. To make matters worse I don't get any break in this because if we're ever out my darling husband insists that I always take Colin since "we have a system" (whatever that means)!
So we head into the bathroom, I try and find a clean stall, and get on with the business at hand. In-out-done. Colin has a different process. He likes to look around. He wants to touch everything (including the toilet bowl itself). He squats down and inspects things on the floor... and might try and pick something up. Piddling isn't too bad since he is (thank God!) a boy, but if he has to sit for #2 he has this weird habit of leaning waaaay back, basically laying on the toilet bowl with his head against the flush-mechanism. When we're finally done we head out and I have to lift him up to wash his hands. To get soap and turn the water on/off I often have to prop him on my leg, and he leans up against the (typically filthy) counter, again touching every-freaking-thing.
This all makes me want to take a scalding shower and scrub my hands raw with a bristle brush.
Trying desperately to not pass on my neurosis to my son I have thus far very bravely endured the bathroom encounters. I haven't screamed (at least out loud - in my head doesn't count), I praise Colin profusely every time for going potty, and have thus far refrained from carrying around an industrial-sized bottle of bleach to disinfect every bathroom upon entry. But I have to tell you, it has been hard. Very hard. Very, VERY hard.
Please pass the Purel!
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