Hack, Cough, Sputter, Sneeze....Please!!!!!!

I can vividly recall my Dad's frustration many years ago when my little 3 year-old brother sneezed at the dinner table. Tiny pieces of peas flew out of his mouth and splattered all over the table and my Dad's plate. My father abruptly pushed his chair back and leaving his half-eaten plate said, "That's enough dinner for me". I couldn't understand why he would just get up and leave like that but after tonight I can totally feel for the guy.

We currently have four girls with horrible coughs. I've tried and tried to teach them to cover their mouths, turn their heads, put their mouths in their sleave......whatever it takes to keep their saliva from spewing all over the room but it's doing no good. I can't take it anymore. Tonight at the dinner table during the prayer I saw Kennon cough twice right into our main dish. Caroline has picked up the habit of wiping her nose with her arm so she was covered in snot. Camille and Savannah were peppering the table from the far corners. I know its only a matter of time before I've got what they have and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm sure it will hit me right about the time clinic starts up this semester. I hope my patients don't have as big of an aversion to getting coughed on as I do.

I think the only way I can handle living here is if I bring home masks for all of my girls to wear during meal time. I'll cut a little hole in the center for a straw and put them all on liquid diets. That way if they sneeze there will only be a small stream of spit shooting out the end of the straw and the odds of it hitting me will be greatly diminished. I guess it's just another one of those things parents have to deal. I'm just glad SALIVA's NOT RED! (you may need to be a dental student to understand that last comment)