Lesson Not Learned

 

Today is Earth Day.  It's also the first night of Passover.  So you might think I have something (profound?) to say about these important events.  I don't.  Or at least I don't now.  What I AM going to write about it my stupidity/carelessness and a lesson that I learned long ago, only to ignore/forget it recently.  Maybe by writing this I will FINALLY learn? (Or maybe not.)

For the past week or so I haven't been feeling great.  I couldn't decide if it was allergies (everything is in bloom here and the air is full of pollen) or a cold.  Or maybe it was both.  Some days I'd feel kind of ok.  Other days I felt miserable.  I took allergy meds.  I took (generic) Dayquil or Nyquil.  (Not all at the same time.)  It helped, somewhat.

Before I continue on, I need to mention that I have difficulty swallowing pills/capsules.  Doesn't matter how "slimy" there are, I can't always get them down.  Which is why I've been taking chewable calcium and daily vitamins.  Dayquil and Nyquil (as well as their generic) come in liquid and capsule form.  Those capsules are pretty big and since I have an issue with large capsules/pills I go with the liquid form.

I finished up the last (half) dose of Dayquil on Thursday when I got home.  My husband and I then drove to the shore and stopped off at ShopRite to pick up some groceries.  One of the things I bought was a replacement bottle of Dayquil.  I didn't know if I was going to need it or not, but wanted to have it on hand.

Mid-day Friday I wasn't feeling too great, so I opened the bottle and took a dose.  I felt better quickly (the placebo effect?) and put the bottle away.

When we headed packed up to head "home" to north jersey, I put the bottle in one of my bags.  You can see where this is going can't you?

In the past (this would be pre-Covid), if I wasn't feeling great, but I didn't want to take a sick day, I would pack up the Dayquil in my tote and bring it with me.  After I had an "incident" where sticky, orange liquid ended up all over everything in my bag, I was wise enough to put that bottle in a Ziploc baggie first before taking it to the office.  (So if I had leakage issues, while it would still be a mess, at least it would be contained.)

Did I remember this lesson when I packed up the bottle on Saturday?  Yes, but I IGNORED it.  Lessons should NOT be ignored.  But I THOUGHT I put the lid on tightly.  I was pretty sure all would be fine.  Again, you know where this is going...

As we drove along, I thought I smelled something "medicinal."  I knew what was happening, but...

We had to make a couple of stops before our final destination.  Each time I opened the back of the car, I could smell something, but I didn't see any mess.  I DID have a lot of bags and "junk" in the back (or as we would have called it when I was a child, the "way back.")

When we finally got home, my husband and I carefully unloaded the bags and in the back and...

I found that the entire bottle of (generic) Dayquil had leaked out.  I had put in in a bag with some sneakers (which thankfully were not white), and some freshly washed pants and a top.  (Not so fresh anymore.)  The "good" thing was that the bag was resting on another bag which I always keep in the back that had a throw blanket and a beach towel (that was white, but had now turned orange) in it.  These are the items that "soaked up" most of the bottle.  But a bottle goes a long way and those were not the only items that took a hit.  I had also brought home an outdoor folding chair.  The seat was dripping with orange.  Hubby pulled it out as carefully as he could and put it on the ground.  I grabbed some Clorox wipes from the house and he wiped down the chair while I wiped out the back of the car.  (Which thankfully did not take too much of a hit...the chair and the bags were the ones that got the most of it.)  My husband took the chair to our backyard where it can air out/dry up.  (Or get rained off and washed off.)  I took the Dayquil covered washable items and went straight to the basement where I started my second wash of the day.  (In a second location.)

Everything came out in the end.  (Nothing is stained orange.)  My car still has the slight odor of Dayquil.  (I'm sure it will fade over time?)  And I have hopefully and FINALLY learned my lesson.  If I'm traveling with any kind of liquid, be it a bottle of Nyquil or a half drunk bottle of juice, but that cap/lid on tightly. Then put it in a Ziploc bag that is carefully zipped.  Then put it in a tote back (or other traveling case.)   Believe me, it's worth the extra effort.  It's WORTH the extra effort!