My mom's been an ICU nurse for over 25 years, and her mother, my grandmother, was a nurse before her -- not to mention the countless other women in my family who've been nurses. Being raised by a nurse comes with its own ups and downs, but it is a unique experience that you wouldn't trade for all the holidays off in the world.

1. You could never get away with faking sick.

Unless you were actively vomiting, had a fever above 99 degrees, or were contagious, you were not allowed to stay home from school. Even then it was a stretch. My grandma once told me that if I was feeling sick in school I was supposed to go to the bathroom and throw up, then go back to class.

2. Your house is overflowing with medical supplies.

From syringes to saline to gauze to medical tape, your mom's collection puts all other first-aid kits to shame. Not to mention the million of alcohol wipes that seem to find their way into every bathroom, closet and junk drawer.

3. A trip to the ER requires a threat of death.

It takes a lot of blood for a nurse to consider bringing a family member to the emergency room. If there's no need for stitches, then there's really no point, they can just take care of you at home. I once sprained my ankle in ballet and I didn't even go to the doctor. My mom just wrapped it in one of the many ace bandages she had on hand, iced it for two days, and that was that.

4. They have the best food in the nurses lounge.

No, not hospital food. Whether it's a thank you from a patient's family, left overs from a bring-a-dish shift, or something their kids didn't want, the nurses lounge is always packed with great food, and when you go to visit you get offered anything and everything.

5. They keep weird hours.

My mom's been a night nurse since I was in the third grade, which means she gets home around 8:30 a.m. and sleeps until the afternoon. My favorite thing to do when I was younger was tell school administrators, who didn't know she was a nurse, that they couldn't call my mom because she was probably still sleeping, even though it was well past noon. The good news is that now when she works and I'm home on break, we wake up at roughly the same time the next day.

6. Neither rain, nor snow, nor federal holiday keeps them from work.

There's no such thing as a snow day for nurses. Major snowstorm? Work. Downpour so bad there's flooding on the highway? Work. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve? Work.

7. You're wary of them when they come home from work.

They may work in a sterile hospital, but the patients there are covered in germs, so it's best to keep your distance until they've washed the shift off. Don't believe me? When I was in elementary school my entire family had to put on this cream after one of my mom's shifts. Last year, I asked her what it was for, and she said it was to prevent us from contracting the scabies a patient in her unit had had.

8. They're always complimenting your veins.

Multiple times I've be hanging out with my mom when she suddenly grabs my arm and says, "You've got good veins." It's because patients with good veins make the needle sticking process much more painless -- for both parties. Don't even get me started on the compulsive pulse-taking.

9. People constantly ask them for medical advice.

From neighbors to friends to family members, everyone and their mother asks nurses about their health problems, most of the time unprompted. But nurses are always good sports, offering to help in anyway they can.

10. They have the best patient stories

Whether it's someone screaming for ginger ale at 2 a.m., an old lady claiming to be kept awake by her husband who passed away five years ago, or a patient's outrageous family, the craziest shifts result for the best stories. One of the most important parts of being a nurse is having a sense of humor.