I am afraid that I have behaved badly today but would like to preface the story with the fact that I was under duress...

My husband had outpatient surgery on his shoulder and I went to work at his insistence. A couple hours in to the work day, the surgical nurse called to tell me that he was out of surgery and doing well but they couldn't release him until I showed up in person to drive him home. And with that, I was on my way.

Then the gridlock on Tualatin-Sherwood Road. Nobody was moving. What the heck was going on? Thirty minutes later, I finally get to my exit but what was this? The lane I was in was diverted and I ended up on I-5 South, the interstate super-highway on the west coast.

Gripping the steering wheel, I took the next exit to turn around. Unfortunately, it was the exit to Highway 205 and had no exits for miles. At this point I was farther away from the surgery center than if I had stayed at work.

My cel phone rang. The surgical center asked if I was really on my way. Yes, yes! I took a wrong turn, I'm sorry!

One hour later (when I was 15 minutes away initially) I reached the Center upset and miffed that I had let my husband talk me in to leaving him in the first place.

Finally, I arrived. I burst in to the Center and announced myself to the receptionist. She kinda/sorta rolled her eyes at me but I didn't say anything. I deserved that. Then she added that my husband had been asking for me for an hour so I launched in to the details of my traffic nightmare.

She kinda/sorta listened but was really doing paperwork and then directed me to take a seat. I replied thank you, but I had been sitting for an hour and I preferred to stand.

She looked up at me through the plate glass window, motioned to a vinyl covered chair and said again, "I said take a seat".

(And here's another disclaimer...if you knew me at all, you would know that I don't lose it, I really don't. Today seemed to be an exception).

"No, thank you, I would just like to see my husband," I countered.

The receptionist got up, came around the corner, picked up a chair from the waiting room, dropped it right behind my behind, pointed to it again with her pencil and insisted that I take a seat.

I could no longer take it. I threw my heavy backpack in to the chair and I began totally hulking out and could feel my jeans tearing off my body and my limbs going green. Lou Ferigno (sorry Ed Norton) channeled his hulkster roar in to my voice and I yelled, "I don't want to take a seat and I've said that now three times! I want to see my husband and get out of here! Do not EVER OFFER ME A SEAT AGAIN, GOT IT?"

At that moment, the double doors swung open and there was my man being wheeled out by a smiling nurse. He was totally doped up on morphine and didn't comprehend why his hulkster wife was fuming at the receptionist.

"Ready to go, babe?" He asked with slurred speech.

I was so ready to go. I listened to the outpatient instructions from smiling nurse and got my man and left.

It's several hours later and I am reanalyzing the run-in with the pissy receptionist. Couldn't I have just taken a seat? Why didn't I just sit down and wait with everyone in the waiting room? I'm sure they were recounting the "crazy redhead" story to their families now around the dinner table.

Just know that if you ever visited me and I offer you a seat and you refuse, I will not insist that you sit down. In fact, I'll stand around with you for the whole night if you want.