Dishpan hands and gold

Going to visit the doctor always presents itself with an interesting cultural experience. I could write a book about the funny things I’ve heard and seen at the doctor’s office.

But I guess that’s not exactly unique about our scene here, as my doctor and nurse friends back home tell me that some pretty funny stuff happens to them, too.

Even so, I thought today’s doctor visit was pretty funny.

So Judson and I were in the waiting room killing some time eating a tuna melt from the hospital cafe when I heard a commotion behind me at the nurse’s station. A man was upset and offering to pay the nurse money for the doctor to see his relative right now instead of making an appointment. The nurse ascertained that the situation was not life-threatening and refused the bribe. Then she politely directed the man to the registration desk to get in the queue. That was interesting. Never tried that before– good to know that bribing the nurse doesn’t work to get out of the waiting room faster.

Then it was my turn to see the dermatologist. I wanted to show him the painful dry patch of skin on my hand that gets worse during the “winter” and painful after I wash dishes, wash my hands, wash my hair, or wash my kids.

I entered his office, greeted him, and sat down in the chair. He leaned forward with an inquisitive look on his face and asked, “What are you complaining about today?”

I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. “I am always complaining about something and today is no exception! But I guess you want to know why I’m here.”

He gave me a thin smile.

So I showed him the patch of skin on my hand instead of sticking my sandal further down my throat.

The doctor said that the patch is a kind of eczema that gets irritated with soaps and dyes and other things of that nature. He discussed treatment options and so forth, and then he cracked a joke that I told Dave straight away when I got home.

“Your hand is this way because you work so hard in your home. You show this to your husband and you say, ‘See how hard I work! Now go buy me some gold!.’”

Classy.

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