Sick of Sick

"Where did all these wipes go?" my husband asked, holding up the empty Clorox container.

"I used them up," I told him.

"You?" he said, "The one who is opposed to all disinfectant? Why?"

I said I was sick of sick. Until yesterday, for the last two and a half straight weeks, I'd had at least one kid home with something.

Since May, there's been a double round of strep throat. There've been ear infections, sinus infections, and That Flu.

The crazy part is that we've had more sickness since May than in all 12 years we've had kids.

I was convinced it was mold. Even though I couldn't see it. Or smell it.

The only way to know for sure was to tear apart the bathroom drywall. Which I did.

And although Dave, a career drywaller, tried to tell me pre-crowbar, there was not a single spore.

Then I wiped and sprayed and squirted and scrubbed. Everything.

Now there are about 25 empty cleaning agent containers. Our eyes might be burning a little, our stomachs kind of churning from all the chemicals. But no one has said they have a scratchy throat or a runny nose, and I can totally live with that.