"Why you in that bubble, boy?"

Now I understand why moms are so paranoid when their children have health problems. There are times when I have flashes of thought where I think “this isn’t safe”. This stems from the whole cooking process my boyfriend and I have. We don’t just have to worry about buying safe food, but also we have to make sure that nothing sneaks in while we are cooking. Living in a college dorm, we don’t have the luxury of having our own kitchen. Most of the time the counter has broken bits of ramen noodles all over it and the sink is perpetually filled with dirty dishes which are left like Moses in the basket. But I digress.

In order to avoid contamination from the kitchen, my boyfriend and I use designated pots, pans, and cutlery which are stored in a large container which is clearly marked (which sometimes works). We also use our own dishcloths instead of the communal sponges, however even if allergens weren’t an issue we’d probably still use our own dishcloths. The worst part about sharing the kitchen (other than all the dirty dishes) is the fact that we can never be sure if the table and counters are safe. Even though one patch looks clean, it could just be that someone wiped of some breadcrumbs. This means that when we are cooking, if a piece of food falls onto the table we have to throw it out. It breaks my heart to throw away a large piece of onion!

Of course, there is always this way...

I’m used to being paranoid in the kitchen about surfaces and whatnot, but sometimes I think about how easy it would be for crumbs or residue to accumulate on door handles, sink faucets, and desks. There are literally thousands of opportunities for my boyfriend to be accidentally exposed to allergens throughout the day. I suppose anyone would exhaust themselves worrying about all of the possibilities, which is why I guess my boyfriend chooses to only worry about the most common ways allergens could get into his system. However, now I am thinking about all of the people who can have allergic reactions just by touching peanut butter and the like. That was why we had special lunch tables in middle school and why we weren’t allowed to bring any nuts into the classroom. All of that went away as I entered high school and moved on to college, and now I wonder how people with severe allergies are able to keep themselves safe.

 (image from here)