Day 54: Lab Work

"Do you live nearby?" I can hear the phlebotomist's friendly voice from the waiting area.


Yeah, we're like 10 minutes from here," Rich answers deadpan and quiet.

"Good. Because I don't really know what I'm doing, so if I mess this up they'll just have you come in again." I sit up straighter and laugh to myself because I know exactly what Rich is wanting to say right now. He's freaked out. He probably wants to get out of the chair and leave. I hope he doesn't say anything rude.

I hear her say, "I've never used THESE kinds of tubes before." And then, "Good thing I missed the bone because that would've really hurt!" At this point I drop the coats in a char and cross to the lab, just as she exits the room; a short roundish woman with a warm smile.

Rich is sitting, both arms outstretched and bandaged. I can see the simmer in his face. "She pricked me TWICE," he declares, "And she couldn't even get it!"

"Did it hurt?" Needles and blood make me squeamish and I eye the bandages with a nervous giggle.

"The 2nd one did! She totally missed my vein. She said she almost hit bone." He's furious. He wants to leave, go to his regular doctor. This is nuts, he says.

Soon the phlebotomist returns with another woman. "I don't know what Sharon's title is," she says, "But she is great at finding a vein." Rich's eyes widen to saucers and I turn away to stifle a laugh. She says I can stay, but I know my limits. Instead I head to the furthest corner of the waiting room and bury myself in last week's Hollywood Gossip. People I've never head of and shows I've never seen. Finally they're finished with him and we're on our way.

And soon he'll be laughing about the whole ordeal. Not today, but soon.

We have an unspoken code between us. If we can't change our situation, at least we can change our attitude. We can always choose to laugh. Most of our fights end in giggles. Throughout our marriage we've found ourselves in situations- running out of gas on the highway (twice...). Three viruses downloaded on the computer. Six new debit cards for Naphtali when she loses the others. And we laugh. We laugh at ourselves. We laugh at each other. We laugh at how happy we are, in the midst of frustration circumstances. And at how crazy contagious our love is. I hope we never stop laughing.