Somebody please tell me, look at my forehead, is there something written there that I don't see -- perhaps something that says, "Please, be mean to me because I do not have enough stress in my life."

See, here is what happened today. I had an appointment with Luke at the pediatrician's office for his three-year check up. Yes, his birthday was in October, thank you for remembering, that is beside the point. The point is that I had finally gotten around to taking him in for his check-up which I waited a long time for this appointment. So, the appointment was at 10:00. I got to the office a little late. I got to the counter the check in at 10:18 (now my watch said 10:17, but I didn't want to quibble about such minor matters.). Basically, the woman told me that we were too late. THey allow you to be 15 minutes late and no more. I understand why that have that rule, but still, I mean two minutes!!! So the woman doesn't even look up from the desk and tells me that she is going to have to reschedule. I was almost in tears, but I said, "okay" and turned to leave. Luke was upset because he wanted to see Dr. Burson. However, I led him out into the hall and then I thought about it and decided to go back in. Because Dr. Burson is a friend of ours.

So I went back in and apologized again for being late and told her that I had just had a spinal implant put in last week and this was my first time out driving and I didn't calculate the time right. She looked right at me and told me it was policy and she couldn't do anything about it. I said, "well, will you at least ask Dr. Burson if he will see us?" and she said, "he can't. there is no time". "So you're saying you will not ask him?". "No, I will ask him." So she went into the back and less than 30 seconds later she returned and told me, "they can't see you"

I left in tears, but not in front of them. But I just felt like such an idiot.

Then I had an appointment with Dr. Lampert this afternoon, my pain specialist, and this nurse was checking me into a room. She said, "you need to sign a medication agreement form". I said, "Okay, what's that?" She then told me, "EVERY long-term narcotics user has to sign one of these." She then went on to tell me how I would have to be subject to urine drug screens to make sure I wasn't selling any of my meds. She told me I would have to pick one pharmacy and only use that one. I said, "Well, that's not practical. What if I need to go to another pharmacy?" and she was so hateful and told me that now that I was a chronic narcotic user they needed to be able to trace all my meds and make sure I'm not filling scripts somewhere else from other doctors that they don't know about. Basically, by the time she left the room I felt lower than the floor. I felt like a dime-store drug addict. When the nurse practitioner came into the room I started crying all over him. His name is Joseph Thomas, FNP ("Jodie"). Anyway, he came in and got me calmed down and feeling less like a drug addict as he handed over my scripts for oxycontin and vicodin.

So, to make a long story even longer, I started my day feeling pretty good about myself and then was made to feel like a horrible mother and then a drug addict. I don't know how this compares to most of your days, but as far as mine go, this one would be right up there with the worst of days, except that I was able to vent with Nicole and Cortney (two of my closest) friends and then my precious husband came home and listened and AGREED with me. (Big lesson for all you husbands out there: when your wife has a bad day, and she feels like someone has "done her wrong", just agree with her. Trust me, it helps a lot)

So, final lesson for the day. Good guys = Dr. John Burson (who emailed me and told me that he didn't even know I was there although the nurse claimed she had spoken with him) [as a totally unrelated side-note, for anyone in the Springfield area looking for a pediatrician in the St. John's system, I totally recommend Dr. John Burson. He has an amazing bedside manner and his ability to calm both the sick child and the mother of the sick child is great. I adore him! He's a great guy! Good Guy #2 - Nurse Practitioner Jody Thomas - helped a lot. Very empathetic. Good guy #3 - Dr. Ben Lampert - who is by the way the very best pain specialist in Springfield, MO!! I love him so much!! He took on my case when no one else in springfield would take care of me. Good girl #1 2 and 3 are Nicole Cortney and Rachel for always listening to my life-altering scenarios. Last, but certainly not least, is Good Guy #5, my sweet adorable husband.