Wednesday, May 9, 2012

"yuck"

The other day my daughter comes to me covered in some type of brown viscous liquid, and says just one word; "yuck." As any parent would in this situation, I told her to "STOP!", "YOU STAY RIGHT THERE!" "DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!" I went to go recon the area praying in my head, "Please don't let it be poo or something poo-related." In the kids' room..., I mean, Omaha Beach. I notice a blanket and pillow also covered in the mystery goo.
Peeking out from the folds of the blanket I spy the culprit, a teriyaki sauce pack from a family-size teriyaki stir fry meal. I don't know how she got nor do I know how she got it opened. I breathed a sigh of relief, thanking God that it wasn't something "poo-related". Although, it was something that had to be cleaned up. It wasn't like spilled juice on a dark carpet, where you can kind of ignore it, then curse the heavens when you step in that wet cold spot that you completely forgot about. You get angry, because you weren't expecting it, yet you think to yourself that had you simply taken the necessary spill recovery and containment measures you wouldn't be in this awkward situation. Having on socks during the moment just makes things worse. It's a constant reminder 'til it dries, or you could just take the one sock off, but who want's to do that? 28 percent of sock loss instances in America occur when one sock is taken off in lieu of an uncomfortable foot (b.s. stats I'm using here...).
By this time my daughter has managed to make her way back to the scene of the crime. I could have sworn that the order was given to stay put. I weighed the option of using baby wipes against just tossing her into the shower. This is when I got a whiff of the stuff. I can only assume that my face turned as green as a sea-sick Looney Tunes character and I almost doubled over like Private Joker when Gunny Hartman landed that punch to his gut in "Full Metal Jacket". Shower it is. Now don't get me wrong, I do like that teriyaki stir fry, I just don't think that the included sauce pack should be used as a substitute once you're out of Baby Magic.
Into the shower my little girl goes. I'm glad she had foresight to strip down to just a diaper before applying that "salve" to herself and some of the bedding. In order to maintain as minimal contact with that sauce as possible there would be no initial removing of the diaper. Since that was coated as well, it too would participate in the cleansing.
The sauce washed away easily, turning the water an orangish-brown and filling the bathroom with that smell. It was just too intense. I turned my head and breathed through my mouth as though I washing out the remaining contents of a garbage can. I had to make sure that she wouldn't be smelling like a chinese restaurant when mommy gets home. The diaper came off when enough of the goo had been removed to where I would not have to touch anything. I took the pillow and rinsed it off in the shower as well. The blanket I tried to rinse in the tub, but all that did was enhance the horrible smell. I hung the blanket on the clothesline outside which allowed me to see the rather large areas I missed.  I left it hanging out there in the hopes that God would show me a little love and drop down some H2O (which He did today).
Days have passed since then. When I have to make a head call there is a subtle hint of teriyaki sauce in the air. I open the window as far as I can. It still makes my stomach turn a little. My daughter is in talks with other fluids, lotions, salves, and cremes in preparation for the next time.

No comments:

Post a Comment