Taken for granted

I have realized that there are some freedoms that I enjoyed in college that I have taken for granted. One of them is not having to rely on school nurses to send me home when I feel sick. In high school I started bypassing the nurse and driving myself home after one day the nurse refused to send me home because I didn't have a fever. I still don't know what having a fever has to do with having cramps, but she wouldn't do it. So, I threw up right there in front of her. It convinced her to send me home and hopefully it taught her a lesson, too.

But my animosity toward school nurses started long before high school. I think it started in elementary school when any time I would go to the nurse and tell her my stomach hurt, she would tell me to come back after lunch. That always infuriated me. I would always think, "I'm not an idiot. I know what 'hungry' feels like. It doesn't feel like 'nautious.' It doesn't feel like 'I just pooped my pants,' either. In fact, eating doesn't solve any of those problems."

I was so happy when in college, I didn't have to prove my pain to anyone. That is one of those small things I am thankful for. And now that I think about it, I am also thankful that I never pooped my pants in college.