SMALL GIFT

I was in my bedroom, putting away the laundry when I noticed a small travel size container of hand sanitizer sitting on top of my jewelry box. I picked it up and went into the hallway. My son Alex was coming out of his room and I held up the container. “Do you know where this came from?”

“I got one, too.” He pointed over his shoulder into his room. “It must have been Dad.” Alex walked into the kitchen with me following him.

“What a sweet gift.” I said as I put it on the counter and went to get a glass from the cabinet. “Every time I’m at the grocery store I look for some but they’re always out.”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “Everyone’s obsessing about keeping their hands clean.” He opened the refrigerator looking for something to snack on. He looked back at me. “I’ve got to admit I’m kind of liking it.” He closed the refrigerator and went over to the cabinet. “Who knew when all this pandemic stuff started that they would actually need to show videos of how to wash your hands.”

I shuddered. “It was a little unnerving. Are there really that many people who don’t know how to wash their hands?” I went over to the refrigerator to fill my glass with water.

Alex found a box of crackers and put them on the counter. “Do we have any cheese?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a block of cheddar in the hydrator.” I leaned against the counter and took a sip of water while Alex went over to the sink to wash his hands. “So, what song to you sing while you wash your hands?’

Alex laughed. “Never had to do that. I’ve always seemed to know when they were clean.”

Just then Steven came into the room. “What’s everybody up to?”

I went over to the counter and picked up the hand sanitizer. “What a great gift!” I said as I went over to him to give him a quick hug. “Who knew that hand sanitizer was going to be right up there with flowers or chocolates on my gift list!”

Steven laughed. “I saw them at the check out at Staples and thought you’d get a kick out of it.”

I looked down at my red dry hands. “Between washing my hands and using hand sanitizer my hands are a dried out mess.” I felt an itch on the side of my face. “Oh, man!” I went over to the sink and loaded my hands with soap before turning on the water and quickly rinsing them off. Grabbed a paper towel and patted them dry before finally being able to scratch my face. “This not touching your face is getting old, too.”

Steven held up the hand sanitizer he’d just given me. “It might have been quicker if you’d used this.”