Must. Not. Touch. Face....

RHYS BOWEN :

  We’ve all be told what to do. Simple steps. Wash hands frequently with soap and water and DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE.

The first one is easy, only you have to sing Happy Birthday twice which gets some strange looks in hotel rest rooms. My favorite instruction has been, “Wash your hands as if you have just urged your husband to kill the rightful king and now you can’t seem to get the blood off!”

So I’ve stood at the sink muttering, “Out damned spot. Will the perfumes of Arabia not sweeten this little hand? Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeared?”  Much more fun than Happy Birthday to you (which always upsets me because the two women who wrote it didn’t get a penny in royalties)

But the hard thing is not touching my face. Do you know the average person touches their face 90 times a day? And I am way worse than average, I fear.

And now that I’m aware of the commandment it is torture:

My cheek is itching. Must scratch. Must….. scratch!

My hair is tickling my forehead. Must push back or go mad….

Is that something in my eye? Eye feels gritty… must rub.  Must rub

Is my face cream all rubbed in? Should I put on a little eye shadow even though I’m at home and nobody will see?

Picture of me inside grocery store, 6 a.m. Not looking my best!

I’m trying to learn ways to keep my hands away from my face when I’m sitting in the car, watching TV or even eating. I’ve tried playing the piano on my knee with my fingers. Lacing my fingers like we used to when we recited “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple. Look inside and here are the people”.

I’m rather wishing I was back at our house in California where I have all my stuff. Lots of stuff. Craft items. Beads. Crochet yarn. Jigsaw puzzles. Things to keep my hands busy. But alas I am in Arizona which is only supposed to be our winter retreat and has a minimum, no large library to read, and no stuff to play with.

If I were in California I’d bring out the worry beads. When I was a student I spent 3 months going around Greece and we would watch the men with their worry beads. It was only the men. Actually we hardly ever saw women. They stayed home outside of Athens, unless they worked in the fields and then they didn’t have time for worry beads. But the men walked around talking with other men, their hands behind their backs and their worry beads held between them. Clack, clack, clack in one direction and then clack, clack, clack back again, moving effortlessly as they chatted.

I bought some and tried them and I have to admit they drove me mad. I found myself counting them… thirteen this way, thirteen that way.. and then my finger would miss one and give my heart a jolt. So not at all calming for me. But now at least I’d have something to keep those hands occupied.

So does anyone have good suggestions, for not touching my face, that don’t involve going to Michaels and getting craft supplies? My daughter Clare has rummaged through her closets and is making fabric masks to give to all her delivery people. I don’t have a sewing machine or fabric here but that’s something I’d like to do. Would a hand sewed mask hold up, do you think?

And a second thought: are you being really, really good at social distancing? I’m trying to but I’m dealing with that most difficult of creatures A MAN. I read that many more men are dying than women, probably because they won’t follow directions and precautions!

The other day we went to Trader Joes. I took all the items out of the bags and wiped them down outside the garage. Then I made John take off his clothes and throw them in the washing machine and wipe down his shoes outside. He made a tremendous fuss. “This is overkill,” he growled.

            “Not overkill, but maybe kill,” I replied.

            I just don’t feel that we can be too careful. If it’s inconvenient, if it seems stupid it may be saving a life. Mine. John’s.

Stay safe, my darlings. Make those men do what’s required

And here is one of the most reassuring videos I’ve seen so far, from an ER doctor https://vimeo.com/399733860/description?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8_B1oBaezwnEZczqpv1X4nZkoEHtQ2NBifU8JbmavmAwldWSYocLpKeXu9Q9DLw6mI-zVto2Cq6326D3W9Jm2R0FQV_g&_hsmi=2