Don't forget to chew

So, I was at work tonight and was suddenly presented with a very attractive (at the time) opportunity to eat a Chipotle burrito--for those of you who don't know what that is, imagine four of those little bitty frozen burritos all made into one, in a giant 12 inch tortilla. Keep in mind, as an ER nurse, I have seen two ACTUAL 30 minute breaks in 4 months, which makes it quite difficult to taste, let alone enjoy, whatever I am trying to eat. So, I think I may have chewed once per mouthful of said burrito, and finished it in record time of 3-5 minutes (if we count interruptions for breathing and handing charts to the doctor). Water immediately preceded, and followed, the ingestion of this mammoth delicacy but, unfortunately, was not involved during the inhalation.

Now, for anyone who has even a vague understanding of the human body, you can imagine the symptoms I began to display approximately 2 hours after I did this. I can say, with definite certainty, that if my intestines could scream, one could have heard it on the 11th floor of the hospital. I lost count of the comments along the lines of "are you okay? you don't look so good" which were then followed by "we need to get you in a bed....are you allergic to any medications?...here, take this." One tiny pill and numerous assurances of "I'm fine, I'll be okay" later, the left upper quadrant piercing abdominal pain reduced me to tears and I decided to let the three other nurses offering to take my patients do just that.

I proceeded to gather up my things to go home. I almost made it to the door, but stopped in my tracks when a rather large woman rolled through the bay doors and caught my attention. She was headed my direction, toward the one empty room left in the section, and my sense of duty compelled me to take "just one more patient". But moreover, it was the screaming of "oh my God, I've never hurt like this before, somebody help me, I'm dying!" that piqued my curiosity. I found it strange that she was verbalizing my own thoughts; it was like I was a ventriloquist or was throwing my voice or something....I think I might believe in ESP now. Needless to say, I am finally at home, thankful that I did not allow my co-workers to convince me that I needed to be examined. There are just some things you don't wish to divulge to your peers, especially anything related to the question "when was the last time you had a bowel movement, and was it normal?" Instead, a little milk of magnesia, some prune juice, and a nice hot bath will get things moving along just in time for me to return to the land of pain tomorrow, sans giant burrito.

Why us?

As I sit here listening to various theories from Republican candidates on how best to run this nation, I find myself pondering one large question: why us? Why has it become the United States' responsibility to save the world? We, as a successful and functioning country, have fallen into the hole that is, on a larger scale, strikingly similar to the one created on our own soil by welfare as we know it. In both instances, successful and hardworking citizens are being forced, by our own government, to carry on our shoulders those groups of people who refuse to stand up and say "I'm not going to live this way anymore, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make a change."

As a single mother for many years, I know how difficult it is to live at the poverty level and wish for a better life. I know what it is like to see others succeeding and want so badly the same for my daughter and me. What I can not understand is how one person, or one nation, can sit idly by and allow others to sacrifice their own lives, and happiness, and successes to pull them out of the hole they have fallen into. What happened to hard work and earning the position you have in life? What satisfaction could one possibly obtain from knowing that the only reason you are successful is because of someone else's blood, sweat and tears?

I think this issue is true even on a grander scale, with regard to less developed countries who turn to NATO and the United States to fix their problems. Why should we continue to send our military forces, whose job it is to DEFEND the United States, to another country in a futile attempt to rebuild a nation that is already better off since we arrived? Our initial response, and subsequent defense strategy, to a direct attack on our nation was one in which I found no fault. But continuing to put our men and women in harm's way for the sake of the development of another country's government is abhorrent. If the citizens of other nations desire an improvement in their lives, then all I would say to them is "that is a wonderful goal; I hope you are ready for the years of hard work that such a goal requires."

I am incredibly proud of the years of hard work, sacrifice, and pain I endured to make a better life for my daughter and me. I would not trade the sleepless nights spent studying for my degree while working full time to provide for a child on my own. Welfare? Comical. All I could potentially hope for would have been the child support that never came. I could have never looked at myself in the mirror if I had instead filled out the necessary paperwork and let others work for years to carry me into the lap of luxury. I would have never developed the valuable qualities of perseverance, self-confidence, courage or dedication if I gave in to the "easier road". Instead, I took the proverbial "road less traveled" and could not be happier with the direction it has led me.

I find it disgusting that so many people of this great country have lost the strength and determination to stand up to those who refuse to carry their own weight and smack them around until they wake up and find the work ethic that so many preceding generations held dear. If we, as a country, continue to allow this nauseating pandemic to permeate our society, it will not be long before we sadly realize the inevitable truth: we can not save the world. Not only because it is an impossible task, but because we have become as weak as those we are trying to save.