Preparedness Alert: Focus On Ignoring These Invisible Enemies!

I want to talk a little bit about germs. I know, it’s kind of a weird topic, those little pesky invisible enemies that can ruin a day, weekend or holiday – germs! You want to stay healthy. You want to make sure you’re not getting sick. And honestly, I’m just really careful about what I touch—germs. This might seem a little OCD to some people, but let me share a few stories and some background that might change how you think about this.

A Lesson from My First Year Teaching

I’m going to take you back about 22 or 23 years. I was a first-year teacher, walking around, helping students, monitoring the room, and doing what I needed to do. My partner teacher was across the way in her room, and she calls me over. We meet in the hallway, and she asks me, “Hey, what are you doing?”

I’m like, “What do you mean? I’m helping students. I’m walking around, monitoring, teaching.”

She goes, “No. What are you doing touching their pencils?”

I didn’t understand at first. She explained it clearly: “You never touch a student’s pencil. You have to carry around your own pencil or your own pen, because when you’re grabbing theirs, you’re grabbing all their germs.”

And it clicked.

Since then, I’ve been very careful about carrying around my own pencil or pen. I’m far removed from the classroom now, but even when I go to trainings or district meetings where I need to sign in—if it’s not an electronic sign-in—I have my own pen. That lesson stuck with me: be careful with germs.

Being Intentional About What You Touch

Fast forward to when I became a campus administrator. I was out dealing with kids and teachers, touching different things throughout the day. There was a door in the hallway that was very convenient for getting back to my office, but it was always closed. I had to turn the doorknob. During cold and flu season, I would not touch that door. I would walk further around the office to go through an open doorway—through the workroom, through the break room—and into my office without touching anything.

Even with all of that, I was always washing my hands. Part of this carefulness comes from having been really sick before. There was one year when my wife and I both got the flu at the same time. We were able to keep the kids away—my parents picked them up, and they spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with them while we recovered.

I remember it vividly. It was terrible. We were drinking chamomile tea with honey, taking all kinds of medicine, and we just felt so awful. No one has time for that, right? I live a busy life, and I’m sure you do too. That’s why you want to guard yourself from getting sick whenever possible.

Practical Habits for Staying Healthy

I am a little OCD when I go out in public and I’m touching things. I keep wipes in my truck. We buy them and stock them up at the house, and whenever we run out, we put another package in our vehicles. When we go anywhere and we’re touching anything public—a door, the pump at the gas station, we wipe our hands and clean them off.

A lot of the grocery stores where I live have wipes so you can wipe down your cart. A lot of people were doing that at the very beginning of COVID. A lot of people don’t do it anymore, but it’s still something worth considering.

When I was on campus, I would wash my hands so much that they would crack. Teachers would tell me to use lotion because my hands would hurt. I just didn’t like that lotion stuff. During COVID, with all the gels and Purell everywhere, I still preferred just being careful about what my fingers touched. If I had to open a door or touch something, I wouldn’t use that hand for anything else until I could wash it.

My Experience with COVID

I’m not one of those people who say COVID was fake or anything like that. I had COVID. I had it for three weeks, and I was pretty sick. I could not walk to the restroom without coughing up a lung. It was that bad. The rest of my family got it, but they didn’t get as sick as I did. That experience is burned in my memory, and I just don’t want to get sick like that again.

I take my vitamins. I take my supplements. I try to be careful. You want to make sure you’re being mindful about touching your mouth, your eyes—anything that could introduce germs into your system.

Simple Steps to Protect Yourself from Invisible Enemies

If you’re okay with the gel, I’d recommend having some around you, especially as we’re going into flu season. I’m hearing a lot more about it right now from the alternative media and different places I go to get news. You just want to take care of yourself and be careful.

If that means keeping some wipes with you, in your backpack, or in your vehicle—do it. If it means washing your hands before you eat or before you touch your other stuff, make that a habit. Use the Purell or the gel if that works for you. Just take care of yourself and be a little more cognizant of these things.

When it’s not flu season, maybe you go back to being a wild person who doesn’t care about what you touch. But right now, in the season we’re in, being intentional about hygiene just makes sense.

The Takeaway

This is one of those things that sticks with you once you start paying attention. Your preparedness plan is only as good as your ability to stay healthy and execute it. All the gear, food, and supplies in the world won’t help you if you’re laid up sick when you need to act.

Being careful with those pesky invisible enemies isn’t paranoia—it’s wisdom. It’s a simple, practical habit that could make all the difference when it matters most.

Peace,
Todd