It's a little ironic.

I went to a dreaded doctor appointment today without my beautiful, smart, registered nurse mother.  At first, I felt cool and grown up, but that quickly changed.  For one, there were lots of papers to fill out that required her signature since I'm only 17.  Then, the nurse said the "b" word and I knew I'd have to squeeze the chair instead of my mother's bony hand which has been present at every shot since I was born.  I lived through it, though and I thought it was clear sailing.  Wrong.  My mom had left a blank check for me to use assuming I'd have a co-pay of $15.  That was wrong too.  Receptionist lady said my total for the appointment was $349 because I had blood drawn.  WHAT???  $349 is a lot of money for a poke and some of my blood in a tube with my name on it, so I fought it.  Then, it got hard and I wanted to give in, but momma didn't raise a fool, so I didn't.  She wasn't there to fight the system alongside me, but the total seemed outrageous so I stayed strong.  She taught me not to give up when things get hard, and I didn't.  After 10 minutes of arguing and explanations, I signed a check for $66. 98.  Did I win?  No, I just stood my ground and pulled the helpless child card.  Being Seventeen is not too bad after all.  The moral of the story?  Never go to doctor's appointments on your own.  Oh, and my mommy is the bestest.  No matter how old I get, I'll remember that.