I’m raising a little Howard Hughes

I must wash my hands a million times a day.? I think I do more now than before I found out the boy had giardia (of which should be gone by now).? I’m just paranoid.? I am forever cooking food and the fear of cross contamination scares the hell out of me.? Moreover, it is my fear of getting sick and throwing up.? I hate throwing up.

Needless to say, I wash my hands frequently.? Good thing right?? Sure.? However, when you have little mister observant as your child it can get old.? Remember how the boy follows me around wherever I go and narrates my entire life?? Part of that is, “Mama, wash hands,” about 3000 times a day.

Good news is that evidently I am the prime candidate of parenting by example.

I was getting dressed the other morning and I heard the boy mumbling something about Oleg and washing hands.? He frequently pretends to wash his hands in his play kitchen sink.? Only this time I heard the faucet in the bathroom turn on.

The boy had gone into the kitchen, gotten his step stool, turned on the faucet, got his hand soap, lathered up, rinsed, turned off the sink and dried his hands.? (with only a little soap help from mama.)? All. by. himself.? Not only that, he does it 3-4 times a day not involving any kind of potty training.

This, coupled with a severe dislike of anything stuck to his skin, causes me to worry just a little.? I can just see it now.? My child holed up in his giant mansion while he mumbles Oedipus-like sentences about his mother and soap.

12 Comment

  1. DebiP says: Reply

    but he will be clean and wealthy??

    I.HATE.THROWING.UP.

    too

  2. HA! I am afraid of turning Sabrina into a little OCD child if she observes me when I cook. I wash my hands constantly in the kitchen – especially if there was any raw meat involved.

  3. Jenny2 says: Reply

    at least he’d have some very nice bathrooms to wash his hands in.

    No?

    OK, I hate throwing up, too.

  4. Mom says: Reply

    Oh No……………….not another family member with OCD!

  5. Think you can teach him to sweep and mop? That would be awesome…

  6. Isn’t it amazing how kids just sponge everything up? I used to kind of raise my eyebrow when people would talk about ‘play therapy’ for little kids. But now that I see how a huge amount of what happens in our family shows up in my kid’s play time, I’m having to reevaluate.

    And you are absolutely right about it knifing its way straight into your heart. The other day, I was thinking, “jeez, where’d she get that whiny attitude?” and then I realized it was totally from me. Wahhhh!

  7. Carla says: Reply

    I am the EXACT same way in the kitchen and in washing my hands. My family makes fun of me, but one time with food poisoning was enough. I’m just trying really hard not to think of our upcoming adoption trip, and the fact that giradia is not that unusual in the kids.

  8. better that then a kid who is disgustingly dirty… nothing grosser than one of those kids who’s covered in dirt and their nose is running down their face…. YUCK! I say good for Oleg! Keep it clean 🙂

  9. Jenny says: Reply

    OCD baby!

    My girls are dirty. And I mean dirty. They will be the pigsty to your howard!

  10. Can your boy rub some of that OCD-goodness off on Slugger? I’d love a few touches of it over here! (My boy is much more like Christen’s description!)

  11. Dana says: Reply

    We need another member in the OCD club.

    And I know I’m warped but when I get sick, I think “maybe I can lose a few pounds”!

  12. […] something.? That whole listening camp is a great idea, but it wouldn’t work with my little Howard Hughes.? Wish me […]

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