Achoo!

When people sneeze typical responses from others include: "God bless you", "bless you" or "gesundheit". In Brazil we would say "salude" which is wishing someone good health. Dad has never liked it when people say "bless you" when someone sneezes-who are we to bestow a blessing on some random person and why should someone be blessed for sneezing?

Maybe Dad would be proud that in my class we have created our own lingo when someone sneezes. It started out with {sneeze} "get a kleenx, blow your nose, and put some germ-x on your hands". That is a lot to say when someone sneezes but with snot running down their nose, onto their hands or the table, and them just sitting there dumbfounded, I figured I had to be pretty specific!

Do you realize how many times a day a sick student sneezes? Multiply that by 8 sick kids at the same time and all you would have time for is telling them to get a "kleenx, blow their nose. . ." I hadn't noticed that this statement had been condensed until I sneezed in class the other day. I sneezed and without looking up from his work, our new student, not knowing or having ever heard differently, affectionately yelled out "Germ-X".

And so it is. Forget the bless you, Gesundheit, or salude. Get to the point-you have germs on your hands that I don't want on mine, use some germ-x and take care of it would you.!?