Aha!

I know there are a lot of viruses going around with the sudden onset of fall we have experienced in Jacksonville, and I think I may have rooted out the source of the bugs we are all fighting. So far it has been very mild--Kyla has a runny nose, Allie has a little cough, and Damon's nose is "fluffy" (he denied that it was "stuffy").

Yesterday, Damon was performing the after school ritual of emptying his lunchbag and eating what was left (along with an apple, which he seems to be collecting daily). He had an empty Capri Sun pouch in there as well, and he pulled it out, trying to make me fall for the it's-really-empty-but-I-blew-air-in-it-to-make-you-think-it's-full stunt (I played along, not having the heart to tell him that I INVENTED that trick in elementary school--didn't we all?). I asked him where he had gotten the drink, thinking it may come from the same child who graciously shares her apples with him. Nope. He replied, "I found it in the trash and I took it."

Remember that he has been blowing into the straw repeatedly, and even managed to get me to put my lips on it (you know, so I could pretend to fall for his prank). My lips suddenly started to tingle as I thought about the many of diseases that could be spread by "sharing" this straw with a random Ft. Caroline Elementary student. Fortunately, I don't know of any specific diseases I should be wary of (Jeff, on the other hand, would probably know them all), and I simply crossed my fingers and hoped that our immune systems would be able to handle them all. Now I suppose I need to sit down with my son and share with him the reasons why we don't take things out of the trash (even if it is an eclair, still in its wrapper, with only a single bite taken out--anyone know that reference?).