Viva Mejico!

OK, so today it became woefully apparent in very short order that I shot my proverbial gardening wad last weekend. I was only able to muster about an hour's worth of work out of my lazy Irish ass--I dug up 3 poorly rooted, thus dying shrubs of unknown origin, got the bejesus scared out of my by a freakin' squirrel who took up residence in my shed, and I wandered around a whole lot. It was an exhausting 72 minutes, but after last week, I figured I deserved a break, and quickly threw in the trowel (I'm so sorry, I just couldn't resist that one).

So health news has been big on the radar this week, huh? Local 4's coverage about the quasi-pandemic of swine flu got me spooked so bad this afternoon that I almost canceled my shipment of Mexican pork chops, and thought about ordering some Chica-sized respirator masks off of Amazon. Of course we have not, nor do we know anyone who has traveled to Mexico, but still, there's gotta be an alarmist Michigan connection that is putting me at risk somehow, someway, and if anyone can find it, it is Carmen Harlan and Devin Scillian.

While I was trapped in my second of two bridge-painting traffic jams yesterday, I also found out that April is Oral Health month, an unfortunately named event sponsored by the Canadian Dental Association. Along with the Ontario Ministry of Health, they have sponsored a number of PSA's aimed at educating our neighbors to the north (and those of us lucky enough to pick up their broadcast signal here in the States) on the importance of good oral hygiene. Did you know that tooth decay is an infectious disease? The 8 year old voiceover kid told me that, in addition to the fact that tooth decay is a leading cause of school absenteeism. Hmm, I did not know that. Finally and most likely to give you the willies, the old-official-sounding dude informed all of the listeners that if you lick your baby's pacifier, you could in fact be spreading tooth decay. Ewwwww. Seriously.

Now I am a fairly healthy chick, who thanks to great genes and a fabulous orthodontist (mad love to Dr. Wright in Somerville) doesn't often give much thought to her overall health or her teeth for that matter. I also don't worry about random illnesses, conditions, or uber-strains of some virus that I am unlikely to come in contact with. I am far more inclined to panic when a Chica-buddy comes down with the stomach bug for I know the vomit-clock begins ticking in my own house, and don't even get me started about what happens when the "Lice Note" comes home from school. Nope, I am a staunchly isolationist chick who chooses to bury her head in the sand, convinced that faraway stuff just won't happen to me, despite that the Henny-Penny's of the news world may tell me otherwise.

So yeah, the CDC can report, and label and worry all they want. I spent the afternoon calmly cruising Travelocity for a little Mexican getaway for me and the Chicas. I figure with the fallout from this whole swine flu thing, plus if I book it for August, at the height of hurricane season, I just may be able to afford it. Yep, that's me, always thinking. Though for the time being, I believe I will start calling them "Frauleins." Just to be safe. I think Carmen and Devin would approve.