SNOT WARS

As most of you know, the week before last was a bit of a nightmare for me. Not 36 hours after my daughter came down with her first, full-blown cold, it morphed into a Man Cold of epic proportions.

And it took every ounce of my strength not to run away.

After 7 full days of wiping snot and tears from my child’s face while my husband snored on the couch, I was relieved when things returned to normal and I could finally remove the layer of snot that had accumulated on every single surface of our condo.

A word of advice: if you have children under the age of 3, do not, under any circumstances, buy stainless steel appliances.

Of course, the increased time indoors left The Kid and me climbing the walls, and with Spring enrollment for mom-and-tot classes only 2 weeks away, I decided we would take advantage of a couple of the freebie trial classes offered in our area to help with our decision.

First up was gymnastics.

You may recall we took a winter gymnastics class and that, despite her 5-day stint in a leg cast, my child loved it. But since it was a really basic class in a tiny room with next to no equipment, I wanted to find a bigger and better gymnastics studio for her.

The more exhausted she is, the better she naps.

Almost as soon as we got through the door at the mecca of toddler gymnastics, I knew it was going to be a hit. The room was massive and filled with all sorts of child-friendly equipment, and the staff were really friendly and interactive with the kids.

My daughter loved it.

About 15 minutes in, I noticed a little boy wiping something wet into the mats just in front of us and, upon closer inspection, I realized it was the snot that was flowing freely from his nose.

Are you kidding me? My child is healthy for all of 2 days and another kid is already trying to share his snot with her?

Of course, the child’s mother was completely oblivious, and when she finally did clue in, all she did was wipe off his nose before setting him free to snot all over everything (and everyone) else while turned her back on him to chat with her friends.

And no, she didn’t clean up the mats.

I spent the remaining 30 minutes silent promising the guy upstairs I will make my bed and clean my room every single day for the rest of my life if he will spare me another toddler-turned-man-cold this month, and then proceeded to call my husband and unleash the most colorful rant on him during the car ride home.

Don’t worry – our car has handsfree, so it’s safe for me to drive and swear at the same time.

When we got home, I swore up and down I would not go back to that snot-infested, cesspool of a gymnasium ever again, but by that night I realized I may have been overreacting:

–My child had fun.
–There will (hopefully) be a new set of moms in the Spring session.
–Cold and flu season is almost over.
–My child needs to build her immunity.
–I need to let go.

But before I swallow my fear-induced vomit, I want to get your take on this. Are you all about throwing your kids to the snot-infested wolves so they can build up their immunity, or am I completely justified in wanting to get this chick’s number so I can give her a piece of mind?