Goings Ons

Why is it when you think things are going your way, something happens, and it kicks you right in the shins? I think that is how my life is going right now. Like someone kicked me in the shins...or the gut...or something...

I get an unexpected phone call on Thursday evening. It is from my mother. She’s calling to tell me she has breast cancer. Just like that. I should be shocked, but I’m not. After all the years of all the poisons she’s put in her body. She has almost no heart left, she’s on Nitro for that. Has been for almost 15 years. It amazes me she’s gotten this far. But she has breast cancer. A very aggressive type. It’s deep, too, making surgery the only option. There are also two questionable lymph nodes, so chances are, it’s spreading. It may only be a matter of time.

Then she had to find a surgeon. One that will work with Medicaid. Good luck with that. The Medicaid system is totally broken, especially here in Florida. The plan is broken, the doctors are all broken. I as sooner go bankrupt than let one of those quacks look at me. But she’s been in this system for over 20 years. When she had cervical cancer, it took over two years to realize she should have a hysterectomy, never mind the fact she was bleeding every day. And let’s not even talk about mental healthcare when you are on Medicaid. That’s a flippin’ joke all of itself. That’s why I’ve been hesitant to come all out on a gov’t healthcare program, because I’ve seen it first hand. It’s not pretty. But something has to be done. But, I’ve gone off on a tangent...

So she found a surgeon, and sees him on Friday. Nothing like rushing things along. I also wonder in the back of my mind, is she playing me? It wouldn’t be the first time. She says she has calcifications which never showed up before. Sil, who works an imaging system says that is very unusual, calcifications form slowly and would have shown up previously. Unless the last mammogram was read wrong. This is Medicaid we are talking about here. I just have to take it at face value for now. And so it goes...

That’s not the only news. My A/C died on Sunday. I heard a strange noise coming from outside the bedroom window. I thought it was the pool pump, but it wasn’t. Turns out the Fan Motor died. $422 later....OUCH! We had some odd power surges on Friday and Saturday, the a/c man says that could have caused it. Who knew? This just a day after DH fixed the a/c in my car (thanks to a $14 can of Freon) so now, I’m cool everywhere.

Friday, I did something I almost never do. Paid full price!!! Well, that’s not necessarily true, I did have a 20% off coupon. So my $58 jeans were actually $46. But they fit beautifully, just what I needed. Skinny Jeans!!! Seems like an oxymoron to call a size 18 skinny, but they are. The legs anyways, not the waist. I have the perfect apple shape, the experts would say. Totally round in the middle, with these skinny legs. Pants, especially jeans are impossible to find. Oh, and I’m short, too. A triple whammy! I found another pair of TH jeans for half price + 20% (around $30) and TH shorts for half price + 20% (around $20). I also got a pair of black Sketchers, for $37, plus half off a second pair, so I got a pair of work/dress shoes for about $10 (this was after coupons, too.) And I put a bunch of Hallmark ornaments on layaway. About 10, I think. The manager says they have cut production and will not be ordering more when they run out, so get them now or never. So nice of them to do layaway, so I don’t have to shell out all the cash at once.

Spent some time with the neighborhood folks Saturday night, between dodging rain and mosquitoes. While fun, it was short-lived. That’s okay, a bunch of us are going to the Tampa Yankees game on Friday, for free, courtesy of Dawn. And of course, today is the first day of school. Where did the time go? Sigh. Well, back to a daily routine for now.