Our Dirt

I bought Charlotte a jumperoo. She loves it. She plays for a bit and then she naps. Play. Nap. Perfect. She can barely reach the ground...so we've helped her out a bit. She doesn't quite get the jumping part just yet...but, she certainly loves the toys.

I bought the toy at Once Upon a Child. Have you been there? I felt ridiculous spending $100 for something that we will only use for a couple months. So...2nd hand it was. It was still $45. Stupid. Oh well.


Warning: the next part of this post may leave you feeling like I'm a bit of a snot. So...if you only want to think good thoughts of me...STOP NOW!


Once Upon a Child is 1.5 miles away. I entered the store and went straight to the entertainers. I located a jumperoo. I glanced at the price and lugged it to the front to make my purchase. I paid. I then grabbed the jumperoo and realized it was dirty. I disgustingly asked the store clerk if they clean the merchandise (you know - because they say that they wash all the clothes and sanitize the toys). She tells me they have clorox wipes and hands me a container.


Seriously.


I just paid for this entertainer 1 minute ago and she is now handing me a container of wipes to clean it. So...one by one I used up literally about 40 wipes on the enterainer while at the same time holding back the vomit.


Was that excessive? Probably...but, I was a scrubbing fool.
Was it really that dirty? Probably not.
Why was I so disgusted? Because it was someone else's dirt.


After I finished cleaning the jumperoo and used up the container of wipes, I carried it to the car an brought it home. Upon returning home...I scrubbed some more and washed the seat.

As I was completing my second thorough scrub of the toy...my mind wondered. I thought about how dirty the toy really was. Yes, it was dirty...but, definitely not out of control. Not any dirtier than either of the cuties booster seats in the car. So...if it wasn't out of control dirty - why was I so disgusted?


Here's the kicker - I realized that I think that MY dirt is better than other people's dirt. Yep. I'm a dirt snob. I admit that I am kind of a clean freak. But, really not OCD. In fact - my floors are filthy (they haven't been mopped in like 3 weeks) they've got spots everywhere...but somehow, I don't care. However - I'm sure if I walked into a stranger's house and saw these exact same spots...I'd be disgusted. The funny thing is, I would never hesitate to let Charlotte play with my friends' or family's toys. I wouldn't even notice if they were dirty...but - if it's a stranger...GROOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Yep. I'm a dirt snob.