All You Can do is Laugh

Every once in a while something happens to me that makes me cringe. I want to be embarrassed or angry, but it quickly occurs to me that the best response is just to laugh. This morning I pushed myself in exercising so much that after I stopped, I felt like I was having some sort of heart attack. It was scary for a while, but then it occured to me that I'd probably pulled a muscle. Or maybe it was my zyphoid-process.

Thinking about this took me back to years ago, when a similar situation occured. I was teaching and I felt chest pains. Horrible ones. I sent for a substitute and went to see the principal. I have to tell you that of all the principals I worked for, he was the...less qualified... in my opinion. He got things wrong. A lot.

I told him of my pain and he gave me the okay to go see my doctor. The doctor examined me and asked me what I'd been doing the night before.

"I went out dancing."

He explained to me that my heart was fine. He suspected that due to dancing while slouching, a piece of cartilage at the end of my sternum called the zyphoid-process was bent back. All I needed to do was to make sure I sat or stood straight all day and the pain would go away.

I called my principal on my way home.

"The doctor explained to me that in my dancing last night I bent back a piece of cartilage called the zyphoid process that is located at the end of my sternum. Just need to rest and stay straight. I'll be back tomorrow."

At school, one of my teacher friends approached the principal and asked him if I was okay.

He replied, "Well....ahhhhh.....uhhhhh...she'll be okay." At this point he pointed to his sternum. "She just...welll...ahhhh...has a problem with her scrotum."

My friend held back the laughter and told me of the "glich" in his vocabulary later. Some close teacher friends kidded me often that year saying, "Hey Robbie, how's your scrotum problem?"

I cringed at first. But then I learned to laugh. It's still funny to me today. I went to my Moms In Touch mother/child book club today at a swimming pool. I was still in pain and my friends wanted to know what was up. I told them and of course, told the story. They laughed as I did.

By the way, I'm no longer in pain. My scrotum is fine. :0)