We had just got situated in our booth (after ordering drinks and doing the balancing act that is helping a 3 yr old potty, change a baby’s diaper and mommy go potty as well) when I notice that the woman sitting next to us is detail cleaning the seat at her table.  She had already used 3 wipes to clean off the table…not too uncommon as this particular restaurant has lots of kids there eating.  But the 3-4 wipes used to clean all but the bottom of the chair raised my eyebrow a bit.  Next her husband joins her at the table.

After exchanging a few glances I notice she is now standing beside her booth seat using wipes to clean any non-fabric portion of her seat.  Hmm…germaphobia much?!?

As I sit there with my germy children I chuckle to myself as I see the drinks they ordered.  Water with a lemon wedge.  Didn’t she read the report on how nasty restaurant lemon wedges are?!?! Guess not. I begin to think about straws in restaurant drinks.  At some point your server has touched a portion of the straw and then sticks it in your beverage. Hmm…kinda gross when you think about it.

Then to my complete amazement!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The woman proceeds to remove the nasty lemon wedge from her drink, pull the straw out from her drink and wipe the entire straw down with a wet one!!!  She then moves on to wipe down the outside of her glass.  Then on to her husbands straw and glass!!! You.are.kidding.me!! I almost can’t wait to see what happens when her meal comes!!

And then it does!!  Guess what they ordered!!?? A salad!! A Salad!??!!??! The one meal in which all the ingredients are chopped and handled by kitchen staff!! Not to mention it’s not baked, fried or heated to remove any nasty germs that’s on there. That’s why I see no problem with fried foods…they’re kinda bad for you, but good in germ removal.

Now to prepare for the meal.  She uses a wet one to wipe down each PRONG of her fork!!!! Her fork and knife do not lay on the table, but rather a baggie from her purse. But it continues….once the forks have been sanitized they each move on to wipe down the outer ridge of the salad bowl!!!

We are now at wipe count of…at least 25 for the meal!! (or more if you factor in the wipes she used on her hands between wiping surfaces) I’m so sad that my nasty, dirty kids got impatient thus we missed watching how they managed to pay for their meal…considering how dirty money is. :)

I’d call the lady crazy, but I’m sure them having the privilege horror of sitting by us at a meal confirmed their fear of germs.  You got Isaac drooling a steak fry to bits.  All the mushiness spreading from his hands, face, clothing, highchair, table top/edge/and probably underneath, and don’t forget the floor.  Then there’s Aidan.  This was his first attempt at sitting on one side of the table in a booth by himself.  His process of eating is similar to a breakdancer that is eating and dancing at the same time.  If I had a dollar for each time I tell him to “sit on your goose”, “eat”, “don’t lay down”, “sit down”, “take a bite”, “up Aidan”, “get back on the seat”, “move your cup off the edge of the table”, “don’t go under the table”, “take another bite”, “no licking your ketchup”, “hands on the table- not on the wall, people behind you, all over the fabric backed seat, etc, etc” I’d have enough money to eat out for the rest of my life…and afford enough Wet Wipes to be germ free.

I wonder if she wiped down our area after we left….