Tissues.  Kleenex.

Awesome.  Appreciated.

Tonight I’ve been wondering who the first person was to say, “Hey, let’s stack these thin pieces of paper in a box in such a way that you can pull them out…..one at a time.”

Brilliant.

And to think that they were first developed just to removed makeup.

That is not what they’ve been used for around here this week.

With this hot mess of a bug that has taken down almost everyone in this house, I should have invested in the tissue manufacturers.  I definitely have been thankful for them, because we’re those folks who might not always have a box handy.  (And yes, we’ve even been known to carry a roll of toilet paper around for such purposes in a pinch.)

I tried looking up who first invented the whole box idea, but the answer wasn’t definitive in my quick research clicks.  I did learn that tissues have been used for several centuries in Japan.  They used the thin sheets of washi, took care of their noses, and then threw the used ones on the ground.  (So I guess there’s a precedent already set when I find all those used tissues scattered on a bedroom floor?  Ahem.)

I tend to tuck an extra one or two in a pocket when my nose gets to be problematic.  I can never be as classy as my Great Great Aunt Maye.  I don’t know how she kept it there, but she always had one tucked up her sleeve.  She’d pull a fresh one out from time to time to dab at her eyes or lips or nose.  I never could figure out how she did it, but put that together with her little makeup table and lights, I thought she was very elegant and old Hollywood classy.

I expect there were a lot of extra tissues sold just before Halloween as they are great for converting suckers or lollipops into ghosts.  Cover, tie it in place, draw your eyes and spooky mouth–done.

I’ve never been a fan of the ones with lotion.  They don’t seem to do the job as well, and I don’t enjoy using them because of that.  So I never buy them.

And those are my thoughts on tissues.  Forgive me for these fever-induced posts as I try to shake this bug and give it what for.  Me and my tissues, we are taking it on.  They are my first defense in de-germing the situation, and I’m thankful for whoever it was that first put a stack of them in a box and set them on the bedside table of some sniffling, sneezing Mama.

Bless you.

Love to all.