A super human's secrets

My husband Mike is one of those people that never gets sick. Truly he can go more than a year without a cough, a tummy ache, anything. Once on PBS we watched a special about these people who are rumored to exist that have superhuman immune systems. People who during the black plague were able to live all around the virus without contracting it. That night I really believed that Mike must be one of these people but a few weeks later I asked his mom about it and she said her memory was that he got sick a lot when he was young. Ok, so no super human immune system but still - there had to be something special going on. Our entire family can come down with something - sick as dogs - with Mike as our nurse, and yet he never gets sick. Sometimes I even wish he would get sick - it's tiring to see someone who never takes a sick day. I want to see him say, "I need some sleep - a break - something." But admirabley, he never does. And you'd think, "Who cares? That's great!" but it bothers me. When I think about those people who are sickly - always complaining about some new ailment I am not too impressed to say the least. I really do not want to be one of those people. I want to be healthy, robust, always ready to go - full of energy. But instead I find that I'm getting colds that he never gets - making me seem like some sickly old Mr. Burns.

Then a few weeks ago there was a breakthrough. I happened to be watching him wash his hands when I noticed something. When Mike washes his hands it's like a surgeon preparing for surgery. He gest his hands and lower wrists wet and then sudds them up all the way. He scrubs under his nails and around his fingers. Followed by rinsing and toweling so thoroughly. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed because I knew then and there that I am a lazy hands washer. I get the lower two thirds of my hands wet, a little sudsy, rinse and hurriedly dry. And Mike, though not weird about it, is a faithful hands washer. He washes before eating - even if we've just been hanging around them house. He washes all the time - but not in some OCD kind of way - just the kind of way that bugs me because I'm always in a hurry and he wants to wash his hands. He is one clean guy. So I tucked that away - not thinking much about it other than vowing that I would wash better until today Mike said, "You know, I think the difference between someone who gets sick a lot and one who doesn't is hand washing." I wouldn't have thought it really mattered except I had witnessed his proficient washing and now it all made sense to me. So I looked it up and it appears that hand washing may truly be the best way to keep from getting sick! So, maybe the difference between Mike and I isn't superhuman immunity or coolness for that matter - it's just laziness! Wait, I already knew that. I'm lazy and he's not. Oh well, at least maybe I can assert some more effort in my washing so I don't have to get sick way more often.

One more thing - though I am an admitted lazy hand washer - I am a commited after bathroom hand washer. The idea that some people use the restroom and don't wash their hands not only digusts me - it makes me mad! Maybe all of those poo germs don't bother them but they are bringing them out and spreading their nasty germs all over the place. In fact, this is my biggest pet peeve. Mike says he sees it all the time. Men come out of stalls, stalls mind you, and then walk right on out of the restroom!!!!!!!!!!! What!!!? How!!!? It almost makes me want to stop people and say, "You can't leave - you didn't wash your hands!" GROSS! Then I saw this statistic and wash truly grossed out - but I guess we're all still alive so while their poo germs may be utterly disgusting they aren't killing us. You better not be the one in three!!! Let's start a coalition fighting against people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. You in!?