Kids and Colds

I should invest in the hand sanitizer stock market. Every day after my middle schoolers leave, I practically run to the hand sanitizer in the hallway, load up two paper towels and wipe down every surface I can in my room. Yesterday, one particular middle schooler finished blowing his nose and threw away his tissue (after the usual routine of his putting it on the table and my asking him to throw it away), and then he returned to his seat with a giant, hot pink booger hanging out of his nose. In revolt, I pushed my chair away, hurled another tissue at him, and pointed aghast, "What's that?" He wiped the hot pink booger into the kleenex, studied it for a minute, and said, "Must be my nose medicine. My mom told me not to blow it out." For one lingering, dreadful second, I thought he was going to sniff it back up into his nose, but to my relief, he crumpled it up and placed it on the table (until I once again asked him to throw it away in the trash).