Seriously?

What exactly does it take for the importance of a given situation to get through to a 9 year old boy?  I get that at 9, there is a limited capability of some things, but this is just ridiculous.  There are times when the situation is important enough that the age card just doesn’t fly.

I am ridiculously and seriously allergic to mold and mildew.  To the point that I am almost always at some level of sickness.  Being exposed to more mold and mildew makes it worse.  What wouldn’t affect a normal person hits me like an 18-wheeler.  I am nauseous almost all the time; I almost always have a “burning acid” feeling in my stomach;  I have respiratory issues frequently, making me gasp for air from time to time; my strength/stamina is definitely reduced.  I get horrible headaches.  And a mold/mildew allergy is a very hard one to escape as they are always in the air everywhere.  So I do what I can to minimize it as much as humanly possible.  Humidty and the heat of summer definitely contributes to the mold/mildew levels, which doesn’t help.

There are pretty simple things that can be done that make a world of difference.  The first is to be sure not to leave wet towels, washcloths, or clothes around.  I wash and dry towels every day to avoid it.  I have told them all a thousand times that, if they really feel the need to, shut the door when they shower, but to absolutely leave the bathroom doors open the rest of the time so it can dry out.  The second big things is to wash their hands thoroughly with hot water and soap when they have come in contact with mold or mildew BEFORE touching other things or me.  Those simple things make a huge difference but it is like talking to dry wall.  I am ridiculously sick of finding wet towels in their bedrooms, wet washcloths in the shower, and the bathroom door closed.  These are such easy things for the people who share this house with me to do and yet they won’t.  After as much time as I have spent impressing upon them the importance of doing those things and the difference it would make for me,… and nothing.

I just went rounds yet again with Scott over it.  He found moldy bread, on a brand new loaf, which is bound to happen in hot, humid weather.  He wasn’t sure that is was mold so he showed it to me.  It was, so I told him to immediately throw it and the loaf away and wash his hands with hot water and soap before touching anything.  So what does he do?  Wanders around touching stuff and eventually rinses his hands in cold water.  No soap, no hot water.   How hard is this?  I gave him specific instructions on what to do and it wasn’t that difficult.  And he still couldn’t do it?

I am so frustrated I could scream.  The things they could do are so simple for them but would make a world of difference to me and my health.  Why can’t they just do what I ask, any of the millions of times I ask it?  To them it is a little thing, but to my health, it is a huge thing.  How do I make them care enough to understand?  A little self-absorption is natural in kids, I get that.  But there are some things, like life, that are more important and I just don’t think age is an excuse.  And half the time it isn’t even about them understanding.  They just don’t do what I ask.  Like now.  I gave him specific directions and he couldn’t even do that for me.

It hurts.