ok. back to real life ...
my longer than usual bout of illness has afforded me large amounts of time spent in my own company. i have occupied this time as follows (in no particular order):
1. sleeping, dozing, napping (including catnapping), resting, slumbering, and snoozing
2. watching t.v. with the new dvr my awesome roomie installed. two words people: NO COMMERCIALS
3. reading books. lots of books. including some (ready for a confession?) trashy bodice rippers!!!
4. thinking & pondering about the big stuff
i shall now pontificate on two of the topics contained within #4 above:
health care reform:
the u.s. needs this in a BIG way. and when i say need, i mean in the people-should-not-have-to-check-their-bank-balance-before-going-to-see-the-doctor way. when i was living in the states i was very blessed to have excellent health care coverage almost all the time. but the few months i did not have coverage, i would literally have to check the account before heading off to find out what horrific illness was laying waste to my well-being. a basic visit to my doctor started at $150 - that is how much i had to pay to just get in the same room as my doctor ... it did not include any tests that may have had to be done, or any medication i may need - and heaven forbid i should need to see a specialist. i could get an appointment and see one in less than 3 days, but it was anywhere from $225 to $360 depending on the specialist i was referred to. i had day surgery where the procedure took half an hour and i was in and out of the hospital in less than 4 hours. total cost? $8,925 ... blessedly i had insurance and it was only $893 that came out of my pocket.
canada needs this too. and when i say need, i mean in the everyone-should-have-equal-access-based-on-need-not-who-you-know care. moreover, my home province should not have eliminated the health care premium of $44 a month then turn around and cut services!! ARGH. other things i ponder when i consider this topic: when i was assessed as needing a surgical procedure, it took 5 months to get in to see the surgeon, and another 8 months to get the surgery. however, the only cost was for the pain medication after i left the hospital. also, i have broken two limbs (you may have heard me mention this once or twice, hmmm?) requiring three surgeries. for these emergency situations, i was in an operating theatre almost before i could realize what was up (actually a good thing, i suspect!) ...
it is not clear to me WHAT the reform should look like or HOW it is to be implemented; but what i am clear on is this: i feel safer in canada.
religious fervor and being a grown up:
some of you may know i am member of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. i made the decision to be baptised when i was 19 years old ... and i became a zealot. i was also on a crash course for self-destruction. between the black and white thinking, a ginormous capacity for judging myself and others (the former MUCH more harshly than the latter) and my obsessive need for control, it was pretty much a recipe for disaster. eventually i felt like a total loser and burnt out ... it only took, oh, roughly 12 years to implode. since then i have been seeking a better balance - and being much more content to allow others the same freedom. recently i expressed frustration about these changes to a good friend - as well as my concern that this made me somehow "less" than i was before. his response? "welcome to being an adult in the church!" did anyone else see that light bulb just turn on?? no? oh, it must have been for me.
every decade of life seems to bring a different role for us to play and while our core values rarely change significantly, how we live them can alter substantially as time passes. for me, the most powerful change of the last 5 years has been an ever-increasing ability to accept. that's all. not embrace nor espouse. not defend, declare or deny. not keep quiet nor shout out loud. just accept. i suspect i will have more to say about this at a later date.
phew!
i was also going to write about the death penalty and addictions - but i think i will save those for another day ... (cheeky grins) ...
4 comment(s):
Balance? What does that mean? (Sigh.)
Afton
When you are better and I'm sleeping more than 2 hours a night, I think we should go out for steamed milk and chat about balance. I think we are headed on the same path,it'd be nice to check signposts together!
I love that picture. Let's go there together, say next week?
I hope you're feeling better!!! And good job trying to spend less...have you heard of Dave Ramsey? His books are a great inspiration to me. Not that I do everything he says...but I figure if I reread it every month or two that I would do a lot better! :)
How was Thanksgiving in Canada??
"Above all things, have intense love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."
~1 Peter 4:8
Just an encouraging scripture, for that religious person inside all of us. Have a good day! God is watching, and loving you all the time.
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