Lube For Kids

When you don't have kids, it’s rather easy to sit smugly and count the people with kids. To be all conservative and judgey. You do begin to see the crazy things people do and think to yourself, “I’d never do that.” Take that one mom at the playground who trails behind her kid with at least three antibacterial gels from Bed Bath & Beyond hanging from her mom-bag. Every time Sally touches the playground equipment, mom's right there to generously lubricate Sally's hands and forearms. Maybe mom's a surgeon. No, maybe mom's OCD. No, maybe mom's overprotective. Then there’s that group of moms who rush to little Johnny’s side when he trips and falls. Not on the cement sidewalk. Not off the top of the play structure. We've all observed the fall, and it was slowly into the bed of wood chips. As much as I feel this overprotecting, clearly handicapping behaviors will probably leave this kid sheltered and neurotic, I get it. When one of my kids gets sick, all of my family will soon be sick. Whenever one of my daughters falls and gets hurt, I hurt. But I’m also not one of those parents who’s looking to begin adding a guest house to our home when my kids are a junior in college. The home addition says, “Please come back until you’re married.”