For those of us lucky enough to have one at our school, you probably still remember this person. They saw us at our worst and did their best to straighten us out.

No, I am not talking about the detention teacher.

Rather, I am talking about the school nurse. On those days where our stomachs felt sick, our heads pounded incessantly, or our knees left some skin on the black top, we could depend on the school nurse to help us feel better (or at least give us a one-way ticket home to watch TRL).

School nurses weren’t just reactive either—they screened for ailments before we even knew anything was wrong. Hearing tests, lice screenings, and scoliosis checks, anyone? Always busy, overworked, and underpaid, the school nurse was definitely an MVP in the schools I attended as a youngster.

But despite the stellar nurses I had in the schools I attended, there is someone else who I prefer. My favorite school nurse is my mother-in-law!

My mother-in-law is my favorite school nurse!

Brenda started her career as a general practitioner nurse. When my wife was 4, my mother-in-law made the transition to the Marion (South Carolina) school system. However, I don’t know if “transition” is the  right word because there was nothing to transition to. You see, Marion didn’t have a school nursing program…

So Brenda created one from scratch.

After building and establishing a nursing presence in the Marion County School District, Sid’s mom would eventually work for Horry County Schools. By the time she retired in 2018, my mother-in-law had devoted more than 20 years to nursing in schools. One can only imagine how many students and staff members she treated.

Although she is now retired, my mother-in-law is still very active in the community as she lends her nursing talents to various causes. She is also the perfect “personal nurse” to my father-in-law, all her children, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. It goes without saying, thanks to Brenda, we were all in great hands at Disney World. 😉

It sure was nice to have our own personal nurse with us at Disney World.

The Wednesday of National Nurses Week (May 6 – May 12) is always reserved for National School Nurse Day. Take a moment to remember the school nurses you had growing up and perhaps do something special for the nurse currently serving at the school where your children attend. Much gratitude to my mother-in-law for the incredible impact she made in the lives of so many. Don’t Blink.