Every Sunday or Monday morning I read on Facebook about many of my “friends” who are suffering from a hangover.  It really shouldn’t surprise me all that much; although frankly, it gets me a little sad.  Now, I will be the first to admit to a dozen or so mornings when the drinking from the night before contributed to lost time in my life.  My hangovers have the gamut from the mild, one-Advil-cup-of-coffee recovery, to a whopper where going to the dining hall would have made me feel a million times worse.

Seeing more than a half-dozen posts picturing cups of coffee, cans of Red Bull, bottles of Tylenol, and pints of Gatorade, reminded me that there were indeed, a few folks in my life who helped me through some of those hangovers, specifically in college. 

I’d felt fine when I got up and was going to be on time for my 9:00 am class.  I decided that a breakfast sandwich and a big plastic cup of coffee milk would be the best way to start the day. Rather than go to the dining hall I made a pit stop at the campus center on the way across campus .  I felt fine when I got up and on the walk down the path through the dorms, I felt just a little upset stomach.  I chalked it up to hunger and carried on to get some breakfast.  The lady at the snack bar dutifully placed my order on the counter and I sat down to enjoy it.

As I stood up from my meal to head to class, I had an overwhelming sense that something was about to happen.  You guessed it, I had to duck into the campus center ladies room, and, well, you get the idea.  By the time I made it back to my dorm room, the outfit I’d chosen to wear to class was tossed into the laundry hamper; I’d have to dig out my overalls and a turtleneck to wear instead.  I knocked on my friend Karen’s door, we were both RA’s so had our own rooms.  I asked her if she’d braid my hair to keep it out of my face for the rest of the day.  She obliged by making two pretty braids of my, gave me something to settle my stomach–I think she even took my “on-duty” night.

Today’s thank you goes to Karen, for taking such good care of me; and for anyone else who, over the years, gave me tips on how to manage a hangover.