I’m at the Texas Med Clinic to determine if I have strep throat.  I haven’t had strep since I was a kid, but my memory of the pain from the throat swab is as fresh in my mind as if it had happened yesterday.

I know it’s going to suck, but I’m grown woman, so I can’t exactly be a baby about it.

The nurse comes in.  I mentally prepare.

She says open wide and say “ahhhh”.

I shut my eyes, focus on my “aaaahhhh” and just as she’s about to strike the swab against my throat, I instinctively jerk back.  Crap, my mental prep didn’t work!

I pull it together, really focus on my “aaaahhhh” and the second time around she’s able to make contact.  Phew.

Guess what?  The throat swab didn’t hurt like I remembered it hurting in my childhood memory.  Now, I’m not sure if it’s because I tested negative for strep so my throat wasn’t near as sensitive as it would have been had I had strep or if the throat swab I had as a kid was unusually rough.

Let’s say it was a one-off …

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