My Enemy, the Germ

It's that time of year again that sickness abounds in all houses with occupants under the age of 18.  This is not law, but it is a somewhat standard occurrence.  Blame the public sharing of germs and the growing body.  I was told that there was a positive correlation between increase of children and increase of sickness in the home.  I laughed at such a hypothesis. What once was laughter is now mourning at my third week of illness running rampant in the house.  Be gone you beasts of ruin and despair!!!  It is especially frustrating when I am the one with the disease, as it means next to nothing is done in the house.  The dishes are not clean.  Fresh meals are not prepared (which means, in turn, that the fresh produce that I bought a day before falling ill is now in danger of molding in the fridge).  Laundry is not done, and children are most assuredly not given baths.

The germ is not just an enemy to the body, it is an enemy to the whole house.  This tiny, miniscule, not-even-visible-with-our-own-eyes,  microorganism is capable of rendering my entire house, for days if not weeks on end, a disaster site.

You know that it's true.  You have seen it yourself, in your own homes.  And there is no way to truly avoid it.  The germ mocks us in our despair.  We can stay home, devoid of all social life and engagement with the outside world.  Keeping ourselves safe from any disease-carrying biped.  But in reality, the germ is laughing--he has won without even touching us.  We are paralyzed in fear of contact.  And once we realize that staying indoors all winter is not an even semi-suitable option, we open the seal of our immunity and leave an entrance for disease.  It may not happen right away.  Let's be realistic, the germ is a busy organism.  He has places to go, people to destroy.  You will have to wait, careful of your every move, desperately trying to avoid contact.  And when, at last, he is at the entrance of your cellular door, you will have no choice but to give in and let disaster take hold.

It is upsetting, is it not?  But do not let such a small thing bring a damper to your mood!  Enjoy yourself, while you can.  And know that in the end, you will win against that great evildoer, germ.  You will fight back.  And you will win.  It just might take you a while to clean up the mess afterwards.