Episode 1, part deux: I have a disease....

Well, that got your attention didn't it???? You people are nosey.

 I only suffer from a disease that many of us suffer from at some point in our lives, if not for the duration. If you don't then you are missing a valuable life lesson. It isn't contagious, don't worry. symptoms include: intermittent flushing/diaphoresis, the urge to growl, tourettes type outbursts, the urge to start typing in all capitols, followed by possible paranoia, tears, and the need to incessantly apologize for your behavior.

What is this madness, you are asking yourself....has Dawn become Miss Hyde to her Jekyll, RN?

Diagnosis: FOOT IN MOUTH DISEASE: a disease in which a person speaks before thinking, processing, and formulating a reasonable response to another person's communication (be it in conversation, email, facebook or texting).

Other terms for this Disease: DIARRHEA OF THE MOUTH; IMPATIENT RESPONSE SYNDROME; and POST-RESPONSE REGRET ANXIETY DISORDER.

See, my form of this disease is not, usually, in verbal conversation. If it happens, I can recognize it quite quickly. MY strain is of the email/facebook/texting persuasion.

I think this is the worst type of the disease because it is so easy to hit "Reply" and start typing furiously, and it sounds soooo good in my head, and I put a lot of commas, and capitols, and exclamation points and question marks.....Then I, merely, press the "send" button and off it goes!

THEN THE PROOF READING HAPPENS! You go back and read the original email, and BOOM! The rest of it has loaded onto your phone, and you missed a huge important part, which, basically, makes you look like a lunatic....so, then the panic sets in, and you wait....contemplating how you can make it better....Send another email? Wait to see the response? OOOOHHHHH! What to do......

The solution is simple. BACKPEDAL!!!!!! APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY! Offer up your first born child/cat/roommate?

 In the end I have learned, just own up to your mistakes and gently remind the person you are human. So, to all of you who have ever had this disease, just know that there is no cure, but there is a treatment: Humility, the ability to apologize, and maybe laughing about it a little....and you will be just fine.

Believe me. I had to do it this morning. Woops.