Kleenex and Valet Parking

by

Patti Dickinson

I am almost never sick.  I attribute that, not to healthy eating (I never met a Twinkie I didn't like) but to a strong constitution and to immunities that I built up when I taught school (suffice it to say that I had pink eye once a week that first year I taught!).  I am also a lousy patient.  I don't slow down, I don't rest, I don't drink fluids and let the world get along without me while I step off the treadmill for a bit.  I had five C-sections and came in the back door delegating clean-up duties while I hauled the laundry basket down the stairs.  

This week I got hit with the second sore throat/cough/sneezing bug of the winter.  

You know how everyone is "cheap" in different ways?  Some people clip coupons, some people reuse aluminum foil.  Some people turn off the water in the shower while they suds up.  Me? You will not find a single box of Kleenex in any bathroom in this house.  We blow our noses with paper towels. Sturdier, bigger, handier.  Right there on the kitchen counter.  

Okay -- I do have a small stash. Stuck in the back of the pantry. Just in case we have company.   Or in case someone gets really, really sick (and I am the judge of that).  Last night was one of those cases.  I pulled out a box and my husband (who just got over a bad cold) looked at me in disbelief.  "Where did those come from?????"  Innocently I said, "The pantry."  He looked at me and said, "Where were those when I had a cold?  How come you don't have to use paper towels to blow your nose?" He had me there. 

But he would never dream of valet parking.  He would rather find his own parking space even if it means that we have to walk in frigid temperatures, sleet hitting us in the face, from another zip code.

Yup, we all have ways that we are cheap.