Not Playing Around

I am writing this post with a muddled brain as I seem to have caught my ten millionth cold this year. I've decided that the indoor play area at our local mall is responsible for my misery as it is certainly a little petri dish of germs. Sure there is a little sign in front of the area claiming that a cleaning crew does a spit and polish job on the play structure twice a day but I simply don't believe it. I think those cleaning times are a figment of someone's imagination, like Bigfoot or jeans that make short curvy women look good.

Last week I let Nicholas play in the disease..er..play area after a particularly boring mall shopping day. He had a blast, running, jumping, climbing and picking up who knows what kinds of germs. When it was time to go I washed his hands well and set about my merry way. Saturday morning, Nicholas woke up with a whopper of a fever, congestion and some stomach upset. No one in our family or his class at school is sick so we were stumped as to where this new illness was coming from. Then we thought about *cue ominious music* the mall play structure!! We started recounting the various illnesses he has had in the past few months and noticed how they all occured after his activity time in the mall. What can I say, Clay and I are quick!

So here I sit, tissue in hand, sniffling and sneezing because Nicholas graciously shared his germs with me. My son is such a giver. As of now I am putting my foot down and declaring an end to the mall play area for my son. While I am not a germaphobe, I don't want to have to cover my son in a fine sheen of Purell before I allow him to play on a giant plastic police car. So, from now on it is outdoor parks for us. Sure we might get cold playing outside in the dead of winter but we have mittens, coats and hats. The way I figure it the colder it is, the fewer the germs that will survive. Sorry cootie-laden mall play area, you have been defeated this time!