Wednesday, June 18, 2008


If you are following closely, you may notice a post in today's haul that lists 3 plastic bags and aprox 20 paper towels being disposed of due to health reasons with no further explanation.

So lemme 'splain.

Today was the last day of school for my eldest daughter and she went home with a friend for the afternoon. I showed up to pick her up and after ringing the door bell twice, the other girls mom came to the door looking a little concerned and said "Your daughter just threw up all over the floor."

Good times.

Poor thing must have eaten something bad and then played a little too rough.  I went into the house and found her in the bathroom, probably 5 minutes after the incident, calmly cleaning her shirt. Total pro, i couldn't have been prouder. Seeing that she was ok, I then surveyed the scene and realized that she had been in another room when it happened and tried to make it to the bathroom, but travelled through two other rooms and a hallway in the process. On top of all this, it was quite apparent that they had been given some sort of purple good humor type confection just prior to the incident.

Well, I felt horrible as did the other girls mom and offered to help clean up as it was a pretty unsightly scene.

Now, when you are in your own home, or out to dinner, or even in certain situations in someone else's home, there is a certain kitsch involved in explaining that you are saving all of your trash in the basement and asking if you could use cloth instead of paper. However, being the quick thinker that I am, I assessed the situation and gladly accepted the paper towels and chemical cleaners that she offered, figuring this might just be one of those times that it was best to go with the flow as it were.

We cleaned everything up pretty well and I was then offered three plastic bags for the ride home, in case things got ugly again. I bristle at the thought of accepting and using plastic bags, but again, for the sake of the situation and my daughters comfort, thought better of it. Well, the bags are now in the garbage out front so needless to say, it was probably a good idea that i took them.

So there you have it.  Just goes to show you, you can try and plan everything, and sometimes, things just happen.

By the by, any of you parents ever noticed that your kid has always just eaten something really colorful before they puke?  It never happens after a day of fasting and a glass of water, but instead right after a huge glass of Kool Aid or chocolate pudding cup. Is this just me?



Hillary said...

Sorry about the puking, both on the behalf of the pukee and the cleaner-upper. But I laughed out loud at your rumination on why kids never puke after a day of fasting and a glass of water. Hee. Here we only have the feline variety of puking, but it generally takes on the aspect of either the food they've just consumed too rapidly (Yellow No. 5) or the brightly colored pill we've just forced down their gullet.

Dave said...

Ahhh parenthood, ain't it grand.

David Kopp said...

Ha! Dave - way to go. I really like how you handled yourself in that situation. By the way, that Kool-Aide/chocolate pudding cup cocktail is called, coincidentally, a Puke Bomb. I have them all the time at the Standard.
(As if I frequent the Standard.)

might I add...? said...

With the backyard composter, I would have just tossed the puked-on paper towels in and covered them with weeds and such. Does this mean you can't put gross, smelly, yucky stuff in the worm box? Too smelly in the house, maybe? Just curious....

Dave said...

Well two concerns. First and foremost would have been the dairy aspect as it was ice cream. The womrs don't do so well with dairy. Secondly would have been the stink factor as they are in the house. MAybe it would have worked but i figure that's a good one to let go if ever there was one.


A. Gallant said...

Think royal blue icing on a store bought cupcake...on white walls and sheets...and white skin, pale blond hair. Puked up in my son's sleep and he didn't even realize it...until the next morning.

Ya...a good time to just grin and bear it...toss it out.

As for the idea of just burying it, I'm a nurse. The reasons for vomiting can be bacterial or viral and that stuff doesn't necessarily die easily. Dogs with parvo leave the disease in the very earth they have lived on. Which means the next dog can get it too. I don't want to have infected earth around where my kids play. Best to burn it if you can. If not, take it to somewhere that people know is diseased and can take precautions.

Just my two-cents worth