“Am I overreacting for being horrified by ‘the spatula incident’?”
A while back I (29m) was staying with my immediate family for a few weeks while in between rentals. It’s Sunday lunch time. My mum (56), dad (57), brother (24), and me were all standing around the kitchen talking while preparing lunch.
Then amidst our conversation my mum, without a shadow of a doubt, rips open the utensil drawer, pulls out a silicone spatula, slips it down the back of her shirt and starts violently scratching her back like she’s trying to exfoliate.
I’m dumbstruck, observing to my horror how the spatula I used that morning to make my eggs was violated. Ten, fifteen, twenty seconds of vigorous scratching later, she pulls out the spatula and RETURNS IT TO THE DRAWER with all other clean cooking utnsils and cutlery all while talking.
I’m standing there like I just witnessed a crime, eyes glued to horror I could not look away from. Everyone else witnessed it without a doubt and just proceeded like it was an everyday normal kitchen activity.
After I finally manage to bring my brain up to speed with what I had just experienced I finally manage an almost silent “what the fuuuuuugggg”. My dad heard me and asked if I was alright which prompted me to ouright ask if everybody had just observed my mum taking the spatula to her back.
The response was as unexpected as the spatula disappearing down a shirt: “yeah, and?”. Left entirely dumbfounded I followed it up: “And then you put it back into the drawer?” To which my mum questionably responded yes like I’m the weird one for being confused by this whole ordeal.
Since then, every time this spatula incident is mentioned, or any other cleanliness matter, my family acts as if I’m an obsessive neat freak with OCD (their words). Their reasoning for it being okay was “it gets heated when cooking anyway so it’s fine”.
I’m not a germaphobe but I feel like don’t use cooking utensils as body scratches is a pretty normal standard?? I avoided using their kitchen ever since. Am I overreacting?
Here’s what people had to say to OP:
CrinklyPacket
NOR. Ew. Pre-wash. Vigorously.
Helix_Animus
I think I want to puke… What did I just read. You all are eating everyone’s dead back skin, and shirt fuzz with every utensil. That’s crazy. You’re not crazy they are. That’s awful u sanitary. I can’t imagine they wash anything anytime very well if they do that.
ProfessionalBench832
NOR. Like, gross but drawer -> back -> dishwasher at least has me thinking Mom’s a dirty-birdy, but it doesn’t affect me. Back in the drawer! WTF!? Like, I might get that thing (The spaghetti thing) while wearing loose shorts and start scratching my junk in front of them. Then, obvs and slowly, put it back in the drawer. BACK IN THE DRAWER! WTF!?
TaidanaHiguma (OP)
Hahaha I’m dead! Noodle ladle junk cupper wasn’t on my bingo card for this year. I texted my brother asking if this would be acceptable and his response was “I feel like there is levels between back and junk.”
MoulanRougeFae
Scratch your head and legs with one of the other cooking utensils in front of them during the next meal. Really go at it with the same vigor and enthusiasm your mom did with the spatula. Slowly make eye contact with each person present, the ones saying you’ve got OCD and then put it back in the drawer. “It gets heated so what’s the big deal” if they question you.
Maybe they will change their mind to see how gross the whole thing is. Show them this post and the replies. Maybe that will help them understand this habit of hers is not viewed as fine or okay by the rest of the world population.
Is it possible your mom is in menopause or peri-menopause? It can cause insane itching of ears, back, head and legs. Some women get itchy armpits. And it’s an itch that can drive a person to madness it’s so relentless.
Get her a good backscratcher, some really good skin soothing lotion like Aveeno itch relief, and maybe a new set of cooking utensils. Also bring your own cooking utensils since she might continue this dirty bird habit.
sallystruthers69
The next time you’re over her house, go into her kitchen drawers, take out something and scratch deep in your ass crack with it right in front of her and then put it right back. See how she likes it.
TaidanaHiguma (OP)
I’m intrigued by where they draw the line because apparently cupping my junk with a ladle is too far lmfao.
Filthycute87
Yikes. That’s bad. Something similar happed to my grandmother. She lent her neighbor a huge stock pot for a family dinner. After a week she hadn’t received it back so she went to her house to get it back. The woman let her in and asked her to wait while she went to the kitchen.
My grandmother decided to follow her and when she walked in the kitchen the woman was pulling two pairs of wet and soapy panties out of the pot. Turns out she was using the pot as an extra wash basin. My grandmother cursed the woman out and told her to never speak to her again. Why are people so gross??
So, what do you think of this one? If you could give the OP any advice here, what would you tell them?
