Irony?

I'm American.

That can mean or indicate a lot of things, depending on the context.

What I'm referring to in this particular instance is that Americans (and me, especially) are masters of sarcasm as a form of humor.  But, we don't really Get irony.  Seriously, I didn't even realize that Alanis Morrissette's song "Ironic" was totally off base, and that none of her stanzas were examples of Irony.

But, I think I "get" that me (the wife of a tobacco executive) coming down with a serious lung infection is Ironic.  (That IS irony, right?)

Today I made my 5th trip to the doctor, this time finally giving in and going Just for me.  Not tacking on my issues to one of the girls' appointments.  And it turns out that I really am sick.  The most ironic part?  That I've been making (bad) jokes about having TB for weeks.  And it turns out that if the medications that the doctor prescribed today don't make me feel dramatically better (and, subsequently, allow me to Breathe), I have to go get a Chest X-ray to rule out TB.

Or is that just Bad Karma?