… of places I’ve been sick.

If you read “Why I Started Finding Joy with Susan”, you’ll likely know about the List.  This List is a collection of places I’ve been sick over the years. 

“But Susan,” you ask.  “Why on earth would you keep track of those sorts of things?  Why would you want to remember where you’ve thrown up?  Doesn’t it bring up bad memories?”

Truthfully, the List doesn’t really bring up any bad memories.  In fact, most of the times I’ve been sick were associated with rather fun things or travel, which truly is unfortunate timing.  The reason I keep the list, though, is that for the most part, the places I get sick tend to be places that you might not expect a person to get sick.  My first Tale of Woe details how I got sick at the dentist’s office when I was in eighth grade.  Frankly, I find the dentist’s office a funny and unexpected place to get sick!  I think that was the first time I considered making a list too, as it was one of the first truly unexpected places that I got sick.

That said, I present to you, fine people of the internet, The List!

1. Pocket of my parents’ good friend whilst at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA, age 18 months
2. Airplane during a stop in St. Louis, MO whilst en route to Las Vegas, age 4
3. On a church retreat, alone, in the communal bathroom, Beersheba Springs, TN, age 8
4. On the braided rug in my bedroom, Hendersonville, TN, age 10
5. Somehow under my bed, Hendersonville, TN, age 10
6. Space Camp, Huntsville, AL, age 12
7. The floormat of the family minivan, Hendersonville, TN, age 13
8. Dentist’s office, Hendersonville, TN, age 14
9. My grandmother’s house, the night before a trip to Hershey Park, Terre Hill, PA, age 17
10. College orientation, just off the sidewalk, Knoxville, TN, age 18
11. Dollywood, twice, 1.5 months after the orientation incident, Pigeon Forge, TN, age 18
12. 3 or 4 times in my various college dorm rooms, Knoxville, TN, age 18-22
13. College of Engineering service trip, Managua/Grenada, Nicaragua, age 21
14.  My aunt and uncle’s house, just after my first day of a new internship, Elkton, MD, age 22
15. Sheraton Denver bathroom during a composite materials conference, Denver, CO, age 22

This is, of course, a living list and is incomplete as I tend to forget some things.  Most of the time I get sick when I travel (thank you Space Camp for awakening my motion sickness), but sometimes it’s just certain foods, nerves, or stress that set me off.  These are the places that stick out the most to me, and all will likely have a post about them in the future.  And since this is a living list, I will likely update it if I happen to get sick anywhere else particularly ridiculous.  But for now, this is The List.  If you’ve been sick anywhere ridiculous, please share your story in the comments!  I’d love to hear them!