Colonvirus

I have been doing my best not to alarm Sandler but help him understand the importance of taking precautions against the coronavirus. I even had his doctor assist in explaining that he needs to wash his hands frequently and try to avoid spreading germs. Though he contested that he has germs of any kind, he seemed to grasp the general concept and moved on to discuss skateboarding for the duration of his appointment.

His good listening and behavior at the doctor’s office earned him a trip to Rite Aid for a scoop of his favorite ice cream. I thought contemplating what flavor he was going to choose would preoccupy him from worrying about the pandemic. However, a few minutes into our car ride he asked, “Mommy… can ‘evewyone’ get the ‘colonvirus’?” As I tried to contain my laughter at his renaming the illness, I confirmed that yes, anyone can get it.

Our arrival at the drug store abruptly ended the conversation and Sandler anxiously skipped inside to get his treat. As he got ready to order his ice cream a woman wearing gloves and a mask—while pushing a shopping cart piled high with toilet paper—caught his eye. I immediately saw the familiar look of curiosity and intrigue come over his face and braced myself for whatever he was about to say.

Being that Sandler’s not a shy individual, he went right up to the woman and asked, “Do you have the ‘colonvirus’?” The irony of him calling it the ‘colonvirus’ blended with the woman’s panic-purchase of toilet paper caused me to laugh out loud. Between my son’s seemingly offensive questioning and my rude chuckling the woman quickly rerouted her cart to avoid both of us. I do not reward bad behavior but could not help buying him a double scoop since the incident was an innocent offense and made my day. 

Though there is nothing funny about coronavirus [or ‘colonvirus’] I do embrace the fact that Sandler has the ability to involuntarily bring laughter and humor to serious situations.