We All Have Our Demons

I was in the bathroom at work today, and as I stopped at the sink to wash my hands, I noticed the woman a couple sinks down feverishly soaping and wringing her hands under the running water. It actually made me wash my hands longer, because she was so into it and I didn’t want to seem like a slacker. I didn’t think too much of it really, because I’ve seen a few people before who really try to stick to the 2-minute hand washing rule.

What I did notice was when she stepped away from the sink to get a paper towel, she left the water running. As she stood there drying her hands I wondered if she just forgot to shut it off, but no – she came back over with a new, clean paper towel in her hand, using it to shut off the faucet. She didn’t want to touch the faucet with her clean hands.

She tossed this paper towel in the trash, got another paper towel, and used it to open the door handle. Apparently the faucet germs could not mingle with the door handle germs.

I can appreciate cleanliness, but I admit I address the little germs lurking everywhere by just trying not to think about them too much. I attempt to keep things clean, but also recognize that it’s nearly impossible to rid any given surface of all germs, and I’d really like to spend my life living vs. constantly cleaning. There is also a little thing called immunity building that needs to occur. Just my take.

Anyway, everyone has their issues, pet peeves, whatever you call them. This woman is a germophobe - whatever. What struck me is the fact that she ran water for 2 minutes to wash her hands, let the water run for another minute while drying her hands, and used at least 4 paper towels (that I could see) in the process.

As I was lamenting the cumulative use of natural resources this woman must generate over the course of a day, it also occurred to me what a process it must be for her just to get through a simple activity, and how positively exhausting that must be to sustain. Then I felt a little bad.

I hope you find peace, hand-washing lady.