GERMAPHOBE

We had just finished a horse drawn sleigh ride in the mountains of Utah and we were all extra hungry. You use up a bunch of carbohydrates keeping warm on a clear and snowy night whose temperatures dip below freezing.

We pulled into a McDonald's in Heber City, Utah. Now, as a general rule we do not usually eat at the golden arches, however we made an exception for Anna Grace, our three year old niece. It was a treat for her and brother and sister. My sister likes to eat healthy most of the time.

We ordered and the kids headed for the ball pit. You must understand that my sister and I are polar opposites. Shelly is very strict and has many rules that I just do not adhere too. One of them being NO BALL PIT in a public establishment. She is a bit of a germaphobe and tries to keep her kids away from any activity that may put them at risk for some dastardly disease.

My kids look at me and I shook my head and laughed at my sister and she just rolls her eyes at me. We usually don't push her past her breaking point, so I told the girls to sit down and eat and they could talk to their cousins without going to the ball pit.

Shelly continues to organize her kids by spreading a paper napkin in front of each of them and telling them their hands and food belong on the napkin, never the bare table. My girls just stared at them in total disbelief. My kids have been known to lick spills off bare tables at home as well at restaurants. I know, what a terrible parent I am, but sometimes I simply loose track of what they are doing. Everyone makes mistakes and I have made my share, believe me.

We all watched Anna Grace as she gingerly touched the table without her mother's knowledge. As she got braver and braver and touched farther and farther away from the safety of the napkin, our girls laughed harder and harder. Shelly never did catch Anna Grace and the girls told her all about the incident on the way home.

Roderick's love to tell stories on someone else and they are always up for a tale on their Aunt Shelly.