Why is the counter always sticky?
This question and more when I became a step-mom
I became a step-parent in 2015. I went from living by myself in a multi-bed home with no pets, to being married with four step-children, cat, and a goldfish. Two of the four kids lived fulltime with their dad and now me, and were teenagers at the time. I affectionally referred to them as my “Chia-kids” since for me they came into existence almost overnight. As I began this journey of step-parenthood, I knew it would be a challenge. What I was not prepared for were the varied unanswered questions that were about to arise. The first one being….
Why are the counters always sticky?
No matter what time of day, or who had been in the kitchen last, one thing was certain: the counters were going to be sticky. This was a real mystery to me. I don’t recall sticky counters growing up with two sisters and my mom and dad. But maybe I was blocking the memory. What was causing this dilemma? I started to pay attention to the eating patterns and habits of the inhabitants of my new dwelling. I wouldn’t say I was stalking them, but I was doing my own qualitative research study into this very important question. I had to know what was causing all the stickiness.
It turns out that teens today, at least the ones I was living with, really liked food that when some form of liquid was applied to it, became very sticky. But in my investigation, I found another startling fact: their father was also in on it. He too liked the things that caused the stickiness. So, it turns out, I had joined a tribe of sticky people.
I had to learn more, so I deepened my investigation. Turns out that every form of cereal they liked created stickiness when the milk was poured into it. And inevitably, some of the cereal/milk concoction would leap out of the bowl and jump onto the counter. Said sticky tribe members would usually take a dish rag and casually “clean” up the spill, doing nothing more than really just moving the liquid around so that its diameter was greater than the original spill. Sticky answer #1.
Then there was a second answer- orange juice. Have you noticed how incredibly sticky orange juice is? Even if it seems to stay in its glass, or the original container, it will magically leak out and create a ring on the counter. Typically there will be two spots: the glass ring and the ring under the OJ container itself. It turns out that sticky substances have magical properties and can permeate both glass and plastic.
I found another sticky answer during my field research: water. This one was confusing at first. How could a can of water cause a counter to be so sticky? Turns out it was the fizzy flavored variety that contains an enormous amount of sticky substance. A simple 12 oz. can, opened at a kitchen counter, can cause a major sticky incidence. This one was sly because you think it’s just water, and wonder what harm could it cause? But, it’s probably the biggest culprit of them all. Its innocence was a dead giveaway.
I’m still working on the sticky counter research. After five years, and children growing up, I have noticed that the counters remain quite sticky. I’ve started to take a closer look at the cat….
