Today, I went to a Bath and Body Works where a sign posted on the door read: “Spread Love, Not Germs.” And then I watched a woman dig down deep into a bin of $5 bottles of hand sanitizer. Apparently, the particular scent she desired was located at the very bottom of the barrel.
Was she wearing gloves? Nope.
Did she at least wash her hands at the sink before she dove in? I don’t know.
I’m guessing she didn’t see the sign.
What I did know at that moment was there was no freaking way I was buying hand sanitizer from that container. Nor did I want to reach my hand into any of the other bins in the store. I wanted to get the hell out of there. I made my way to the counter and told myself that the bottles of hand soap in my arms were three or four deep on the shelf and completely untouched before I came along.
And even though I witnessed what I considered to be a heinous act against her fellow shoppers, I felt terrible for the next person who didn’t see it happen. She would unknowingly put her hand into that bin to select her item and will have had no idea what a bad decision she was making for herself and her family. I only hope she washes her hands immediately after.
And these are the things that I think about when I try to enjoy a few hours of shopping with my daughter. I get upset and then concerned. I looked around for the pandemic police to come to our rescue and wipe down every bottle in the store.
It’s exhausting to be this anxious and over a little thing like a bottle of hand sanitizer. I don’t want to be this person. It is hard to suppress my feelings, but I managed to do so. What is the alternative? The last thing I want is to become agoraphobic and stay home until a vaccine is discovered, tested, approved and distributed in a safe and effective manner. That could take a while, so we all have to figure out ways to live with this virus. My hope is that we all make better choices along the way.
And to the person who made a poor decision to plunge her uncovered hands into that bin, I hope the French Lavender fragrance was worth it.
Virginia Allain
October 22, 2020 at 12:02 am (4 years ago)Because I’m in the dangerous age range and because I’ve had pneumonia twice since 2017, I’m being extremely cautious. I don’t see it as paranoia, but thank goodness we are retired and can mostly stay home.
Lily Leung
August 6, 2020 at 7:07 pm (4 years ago)As a nurse, I’m trained to treat everything as contaminated. 🙂 I try not to worry too much and just remember not to touch my face and wash my hands. You can wipe down stuff you’re worried about. I was shopping groceries one time and was waiting for this lady to finish at the cauliflower bin to finish. I had to give up because she was examining each one minutely. I’m can’t remember if she was masked or not.
Robert Krantweiss
August 6, 2020 at 12:58 am (4 years ago)You are a good mom. Trying as best as you can to keep your family and the rest of the world safe.