Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Sethanese, Otherwise Called My Land of Confusion

So, I picked up a prescription for today.  The Spare to the Throne was in the kitchen when I opened it.  Ever looking for the teachable moment,  I reminded him that anytime you get a prescription, especially if it looks different than the last one you had, you should check the bottle's description and make sure you have the right pill.  "What do you mean" asked the boy.  "Read the label.  It should have a description of what the pill looks like."

He says:  "on the front of the pill, there is a 20.  On the back of the pill is.....hey.  How am I supposed to tell which side is the front, and which side is the back?" 

"Seth, the front has a 20 on it." 

"But what if the 20 is actually on back, and the other numbers are on the front?  I mean, the front and the back could be transposed, and then I take the wrong pill, and...........it could be cyanide."

::sigh::

"See Mom, this is what I mean.  Look at this other bottle.  It says "one side of the pill has a 297 on it, and the other has UNI.  They don't differentiate front and back.  I find it all very confusing."

And then he just grins that grin that says AHA, and walks out of the room, leaving his mother to realize that, one year from now, he will be living in a dorm somewhere, and I will have no cheap source of entertainment.  Or confusion.

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