When I noticed the half-empty bottle of mouthwash, I was confused. I had just bought it the previous night. Why was it almost gone? I didn’t see any blue-stained streaks near the sink or on the floor. Where did it go?
Then my heart sank into my stomach.
Did the boys drink the mouthwash?
They didn’t normally like it enough to even gargle the minimal amount required to pass my “Did you brush your teeth and rinse” questions they heard daily. But, this was a different mouthwash. Candy-flavored. It even had a superhero’s picture on the bottle.
Oh no! What had I done?
My was spinning non-stop with questions.
Were my kids drinking the mouthwash like water?
Were they unusually giddy right now in their first class?
It’s Wednesday. Chapel is first. Were they drunk in chapel?
Oh dear.
What would the school think of them? What would they think of me?
Would they forgive me if my sons came to school drunk?
Probably not. I wouldn’t forgive me if I was them. I would judge me.
It didn’t help that I had read a story about a toddler who drank enough fruit-flavored hand sanitizer to land her in the emergency room for detoxification. My thoughts had gone straight to the mother when I read the story.
Where was she when her child was drinking this delicious hand sanitizer, I thought. Now I realized she was probably exactly where I was this morning. Running around the house gathering backpacks and lunches while yelling to the bathroom, “Did you brush your teeth and rinse?” My sons had answered yes. Little did I know they were having their own little party back there. That's probably what the toddler said to their mom when asked if they'd cleaned their hands.
I guess the trick was on me. And I was going to be the object of other judgmental moms when this story hit the news.
I. Was. Panicking.
At some point, I stilled myself. The thoughts started to come more slowly and eventually became more rational. In all likelihood, the boys weren’t drunk. Having a mouthwash/toothpaste-stained uniform shirt was a much more likely scenario for my rowdy morning crew.
When no one had called from the school by lunchtime, I finally stopped thinking about it. I spoke with them after they got home and learned that each boy had taken a cup’s worth of rinse and quickly spit it out to see who could gargle the fastest.
A rinse game. Not a drinking game. It’s not the most effective way to rinse away morning breath, but at least they weren’t taking shots over the sink.
Although they wasted good mouthwash, I’m glad they hadn’t gone to school inebriated.
Now, please forgive me if my kids come to school with bad breath…..
Then my heart sank into my stomach.
Did the boys drink the mouthwash?
They didn’t normally like it enough to even gargle the minimal amount required to pass my “Did you brush your teeth and rinse” questions they heard daily. But, this was a different mouthwash. Candy-flavored. It even had a superhero’s picture on the bottle.
Oh no! What had I done?
My was spinning non-stop with questions.
Were my kids drinking the mouthwash like water?
Were they unusually giddy right now in their first class?
It’s Wednesday. Chapel is first. Were they drunk in chapel?
Oh dear.
What would the school think of them? What would they think of me?
Would they forgive me if my sons came to school drunk?
Probably not. I wouldn’t forgive me if I was them. I would judge me.
It didn’t help that I had read a story about a toddler who drank enough fruit-flavored hand sanitizer to land her in the emergency room for detoxification. My thoughts had gone straight to the mother when I read the story.
Where was she when her child was drinking this delicious hand sanitizer, I thought. Now I realized she was probably exactly where I was this morning. Running around the house gathering backpacks and lunches while yelling to the bathroom, “Did you brush your teeth and rinse?” My sons had answered yes. Little did I know they were having their own little party back there. That's probably what the toddler said to their mom when asked if they'd cleaned their hands.
I guess the trick was on me. And I was going to be the object of other judgmental moms when this story hit the news.
I. Was. Panicking.
At some point, I stilled myself. The thoughts started to come more slowly and eventually became more rational. In all likelihood, the boys weren’t drunk. Having a mouthwash/toothpaste-stained uniform shirt was a much more likely scenario for my rowdy morning crew.
When no one had called from the school by lunchtime, I finally stopped thinking about it. I spoke with them after they got home and learned that each boy had taken a cup’s worth of rinse and quickly spit it out to see who could gargle the fastest.
A rinse game. Not a drinking game. It’s not the most effective way to rinse away morning breath, but at least they weren’t taking shots over the sink.
Although they wasted good mouthwash, I’m glad they hadn’t gone to school inebriated.
Now, please forgive me if my kids come to school with bad breath…..
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