I am the MOM and I was here FIRST!

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I am a 44 year old mother of three children and grandmother of one. I am divorced from my children's father whom I share joint physical custody of our youngest two children with. I have been married to my fabulous husband for over 9 near-perfect years. I LOVE this man! He is a wonderful generous, affectionate, tolerant and all forgiving husband. He is also a terrific step-dad/male role model to my kids and an even better grand father to our two year old grand daughter. My oldest daughter attends college to obtain her nursing degree. She has been on her own for over three years now (no longer part of a shared custody arrangement like her brother & sister) My middle daughter is in high school and plays on the freshmen volleyball & soccer teams. She's really creative and talented. My son is in middle school and plays hockey and lacrosse. He is a sweet sensitive boy who still says "I love you Mom" frequently. I work part time running an online ebay store. I have terrific and supportive relationships with my family, friends and of course my kids. I am extremely close to my sister, my Mom and my sister-in-laws. They are my best friends.

THE JOURNAL OF MY LIFE ...


Monday, June 30, 2008

Wash Your Hands

Wash your hands.

It is a three word sentence.

At times, it is a plea. Other times ... a command.

Wash your hands.

How many times have I uttered these words?

I have three children. My oldest daughter is 22. I stopped telling her to wash her hands years and years ago.

My middle daughter is 15. It's been quite awhile since I had to tell her to wash her hands.

But the 13 year old boy that lives here... ???

Not a day goes by, when he's home with me, that those words don't find their way out of my mouth.

WASH YOUR HANDS.

It all started with the boy right around the potty training years. He was approaching 3 years old. He would go to the bathroom and I would make him wash his hands.

And just like anything, consistency and routine were the order of the day to train him to wash his hands ALWAYS after going to the bathroom.

But, 10 years later, I am still waiting for this boy to manage this passage on his own.

Wash your hands.

I don't want to say those words anymore.

I want the boy to wash his hands after he goes to the bathroom.

In the early morning hours, he used to try to sneak to the bathroom, closing the door ever so quietly, NOT flushing the toilet, then tiptoe out, just to avoid washing his hands. But I'd bust him as he would inevitably run up the stairs to his room, cluing me in to what he was doing on the first floor. I'd come flying out of my bedroom and make him come back down to wash.

He used to flush the toilet and just run the water in the sink, leading me to believe he had washed his hands. He'd come out of the bathroom and even wipe his "wet" hands on his pants to drive home the point to "whoever" may actually check to see if he really washed his hands. I caught on to that one when I stood outside the door one day and actually caught him with dry (filthy) hands.

He then moved to, turning on the water and sticking just his fingertips in the water and then flicking the water on me to prove he'd washed. His sister caught him wiggling an inch of fingers in the water one day, sans soap and figured out what his latest hand washing hoax was.

He graduated to squirting soft soap in the sink and running the water for long periods of time, making a ton of bubbles. He'd spend so much time on this, that I was just sure he'd washed his hands, but sadly found out that he'd only gotten the sink really clean, not his hands.

And once I caught him just putting soft soap on his hands, rubbing it in like lotion, and walking out of the bathroom.

He hates getting caught.

I hate catching him.

Why won't he just wash his damn hands???

It's a simple task. The water's right there. The sink is just right for his height. The liquid soap comes out of the pump easily. The towel hangs right next to the sink.

Simple.

Right?

But don't you know, I just told him to wash his hands.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

my step son is 11 years old, and he sounds exactly like your son. He has done all of the same sneaky tricks, and I do not understand that if he is spending all of this time covering up not washing his hands, then why can't he spend the time just washing them? It is hard for me because I do not think my step sons mother enforces that he does this over at her house, so it is a big pain for him, because of no consistency. I cannot stand it! I do watch him like an eagle to see when he goes to the bathroom and wait outside the door sometimes to see if he washes his hands! I really need help with this issue! I sanitize everything extra, just to make up for his poopoo or peepee hands, and we have discussed diseases and sicknesses you can get from not washing, but nothing makes a difference. What am I to do?

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