Wow I Didn't See That Coming!!!

 

Well, I got quite a Surprise in the Mail from the Division of Child Support Enforcement, a Check for Back Child Support my Ex Husband Owes me for The Son!  Wow, I didn't see that coming!   The Son is 37 now, I got Divorced when he was Six Weeks Old.   But I never received the Child Support the Courts awarded me, ever, and after all this time, never expected to.  It seems that if back Child Support is Owed, Social Security can garnish the Disability or Retirement Checks for back Support Owed, who knew?!  Now, SSI is exempt coz anyone getting SSI is impoverished or they wouldn't be receiving it.   He'll have to live a mighty long time tho' to repay me all the 18 Years of Back Child Support Owed that he never Paid.

 Anyway, a pleasant Surprise coz he owes me 18 Years worth of Child Support, it will be nice to get at least some of it while I'm still living.  *LOL*  If the Ex Dies tho' the payments stop from the garnishment, even if back Support is still Owed the Living Parent/Child.  So, that was some Good News for a change, unexpected Money long Owed to me, some of it is finally collected and paid!  Whoop-Whoop!   And I already told you Social Security very recently also had to reimburse The Man a LOT of Money they'd been shorting him in his Social Security Payments!  Now, I doubt DOGE has anything to do with any of this tho'?

Tomorrow Morning I have One of Two Doc Appointments with my Primary Doctor.  The 1st one is a follow-up for the Diabetes and I've got to ask her if she'll change the Trulicity Injectable to one of the Injectables for Diabetes that also helps with Weight Loss?   My Cardiologist has recommended it and so she probably will agree to it and Medicare will approve it if you're taking it primarily for the Type II Diabetes and not just for Weight Loss, which, they won't pay for.  I'm doing well on Trulicity, but it doesn't have that added benefit of helping with Weight Loss.

I did well with GOLO but honestly have hit a plateau that I've not been able to get past now.   I'm holding Weight at around 190-200, so, did have about a solid 25 Lb. Loss on GOLO, which wasn't bad and has held up.   I got down to 188 so did have some gain back which I can't explain coz nothing changed at all and my appetite is still suppressed.  Every Meal usually lasts me for 2-3 Meals, I can't eat a whole Meal of anything anymore really, I feel full with eating 1/3 to 1/2 of whatever it is.  And, I don't crave foods I shouldn't have, in fact, I'm not a fan of Fried Foods or Junk Foods or Desserts/Sweet Foods.

I am a Foodie tho', I do like a lovely presentation of good Food and I do like to have someone Cook for me, even if I can't eat it all in one sitting.  I eat 'til full, then Stop.  And I like to eat Fresh Foods, Perishables are something you have to buy more often, but I prefer them to Frozen or Canned and Non-Perishable Foods.   I keep a stocked Pantry of a wide variety of Non-Perishables tho'.   If Pandemic taught me one valuable lesson, it's to have a cache of Non-Perishable Foods for Emergency Situations that might arise.  I'm no Doomsday Prepper, but, you should have Food on Hand to sustain you if it's necessary in a Crisis of any kind.

Remember during Pandemic when Grocery Shelves were absolutely bare for Months?   Well, I never had to worry coz I had always kept about 6 Months worth of Non-Perishables and Frozen Foods on Hand.   It's just how The Man and I always have lived.  We don't live Hand To Mouth and want to worry about where our next Meal is coming from during any unforeseen Crisis, whatever it may be.   Listen, in my Past I've been Homeless and I've been Hungry, it ain't no Fun and I don't ever wanna revisit those tougher times of Life... and, it can happen to anyone.

As a Young Single Parent I remember eating every other Day so that I could afford the Specialty Formula my Lactose Intolerant Newborn Infant required, coz she couldn't process Breast Milk.   I had a good Job, but, being a Single Parent and supporting a Family on One Income has always been difficult.   All told, I was a Single Mom for a total of Seven Years before Marrying The Man.   And, during those Single Parent Years, my Parents, both of them, were each battling Cancer at the time and I helped them out too.  They both survived the Cancer, but, they had financial problems due to the Medical Expenses being so high.  Dad even had to File Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

At the time I ran Departments for Bankruptcies, Collections and Foreclosures, for Major Financial Institutions.   So I assisted him in navigating all of that, even tho' he Lawyered Up so that he had a Law Firm handling it on his behalf.  He Trusted me better to explain it all to him and help him with his Paperwork.  Since, my Dad was a very Smart Man, but a poorly Educated one.  On the Rez they put most of the Indian Children in Indian Schools, put them to work doing forced Child Labor in his day, and called it an Education.   So, my Dad had about a Grade School Academic Education, Cousins my own Age on the Rez do too, things haven't improved all that much for Indigenous Children.

Anyway, Medical Debt can easily Bankrupt any American if Insurance just don't or won't pay.  Or, perhaps you have insufficient Insurance, or are Sick too long.  Fighting and Surviving a Terminal Illness Diagnosis can be extremely expensive and top a Million easily.   Do you know that during Pandemic the average Victim Hospitalized with COVID ran up $300,000+ in Medical Expenses, for each person, even if they didn't Survive it?  The Average Cost for a Cancer Patient is around $150,000 Annually, even if they don't Survive.  And can be much higher depending on type and of what is required... Surgery, various Treatments, Hospitalization, Long Term and Palliative Care.  My Mom's Long Term Care Years ago was $11,000 per Month.

A Friend of mine had a Dad with Parkinson's and his Long Term Care over 20 Years Ago was $99,000 Annually.   A Semi-Private Room in a Nursing Home now starts at about $9,200 a Month... Assisted Living around $5,900 a Month... and can be much more in the better Facilities and depending upon the extent of Care needed.   That's not even in the realm of possibility for most of us, certainly not for my Family at all.   Long Term Care Insurance, before you even need the Care, for a Couple, is around $2,600 a Month in our State, IF both are currently Healthy!!!   If one is already Caregiving for the other, significantly higher Premiums.

I have a funny Senior Moment Story tho', I'd told The Man I was taking him for an Endless Soup, Salad and Breadsticks Dinner, so, you know what Restaurant I had in Mind, Right?   Only I drive to and walk into a "Red Lobster" instead!!!!!  Then, realize instantly, Oh Shit, Wrong Restaurant!!!  Apologize to the Hostess and herd The Man out!!!  *Bwahahahahaha*   Yes, the "Olive Garden" was just walking distance away in the same Mall Area, but, still, clearly my Stroke has caused some slight damage.  *LMAOROTF*  I tell the Story to the Family, probably not a good Idea, coz now The Son is melting down thinking I'm Losing it and won't be able to take care of myself or his Dad!  Ayyyyy!!!

So, last Night he drank too much and began fighting loudly with himself about, "What are you gonna do!?!   What happens when they're no longer here!?"   Fuuuuck, at first I thought he was arguing and yelling at his Sister, but, he was alone and I had a hard time convincing him, Calm Down, I'm not Losing it, Dad can still do some things for himself, we're not Dying or Dead yet, so, you need to get a grip!   He knows he'd be the one in Charge of the Circus and Ringmaster of this Shitshow of Monkeys, once I'm gone, so it terrifies him more than I realized.  Coz, he's not got his shit together either and has his Conditions.  He's FINALLY seeing the Political Chaos for what it is too, he doesn't Vote and Hates both sides.  Other than that, everything is Swell. *LOL*

I had to go Rounds again with Hospital Billing for The Man.  We've only told them Twice already to input our Secondary Insurance for him that TriCare For Life covers what Medicare won't.  They input it at the Hospital right in front of me the 2nd time, but where they Bill from didn't have the information.   I spent over 30 Minutes on Calls to Two Johns from India, Yes, they're all Named John in these 3rd World International Call Centers, Bless them.  Always polite, barely a grasp of English, but they try and can only read from their Scripts, they don't understand American Insurance Systems, so, there's always a communication barrier to get things resolved.

Do I know if it's really resolved this time?  Nope.  But, we'll see.  They tried to tell me my TriCare Status was "Active" but that The Man's wasn't, which isn't possible coz he's the Veteran and my Sponsor for that Insurance!  So, if his wasn't Active mine wouldn't be either, finally, John No. 2 was able to verify Active Status and input the information once again, into their System, 4th time hopefully is a Charm coz I'm not paying the outstanding $425 due to their Administration mix-ups and errors.   Yes, it's less than Five Hundred of an Eighty Thousand Plus Dollar Bill, but, it should be 100% covered between both of our Insurances... so I'm not paying it.

So, when they realize I'm not paying it, and that they have to talk to me rather than The Man, since I'm his Caregiver, they finally come to terms with this is how it just is.  It's always a Dog and Pony Show tho' and so you have to exercise the Patience of Job of the Bible, which, I've perfected the discipline of staying Nice, but Firm, it works out better than Losing your shit and alienating whoever you're talking to.  They want to Help you if you're pleasant, even if you're firm and insist on things being done correctly so that none of us has to continue Dealing with a protracted Situation that remains fucked up.  *Winks* 

John #1 was pleasant but not a lot of Help, he couldn't even find us in the System, perhaps he was 'New"?  So he eventually pretended to put me on Hold and hung up on me.  I could tell he was getting flustered and we were getting nowhere, so I actually didn't mind calling back and getting John #2, his English was better and he at least found us in their System, I knew we were there... coz... they sent me an E-Mail Bill for Services just Saturday!!!   This was my dispute and I explained I wouldn't have to call if we weren't in the System and getting Billed for something we simply don't Owe and I thought had already been resolved AT the Hospital!  Admissions had neglected to input Secondary Insurance in there and it took Girl No. 2 to input it... so why it still wasn't there, I couldn't tell him.

Hospitals, tho' I'm sure they get a lot of Military and Veterans, still act like they don't understand how TriCare Works and that they don't Issue a Healthcare Card, you just use your Military ID and your Sponsor's Social, that's it.  That's how it's been and so why they still don't seem to process that the Military Insurance Program is the way it is, Heaven knows?  I liked it better when every Military Base had their own Hospitals and ER, much easier for Active Duty, Retirees and their Families.   But, they closed them down Years ago, Budget Cuts you know... just Clinics now, and so Services of Earned Benefits continue to erode or be done away with entirely and so now here we are.

The John Deere got delivered, right on time.  So, we're back in business for cutting our Acreage's Grass.  *Whew*  Mando had cut it the last Two times with a freakin' Push Mower!   Brad came and did what he had to do with the Pool assuring us that within Days it will be pristine again.  The new Vacuum is installed now too.  I had my Doc Appt. and it went well, she doesn't think we'll have any issues with switching to Ozempic instead of Trulicity, but the Approval by Medicare may take a couple Weeks.  Since my A1C has gone up and my Specialist for my Heart requested the switch too, it should go thru without a hitch.  I had to have Labs done to prove I need something different.  She thinks my Sleep Apnea may be why I had the Stroke and am having trouble with Weight Loss, I didn't know it could cause things like that, but apparently it can contribute.

 

She doesn't like that Medicare is sending their own Home Nurses to do Annual Well Checks coz she said that constitutes a Conflict Of Interest.  She said I can refuse to have them do it next Year and say that I have it done by my regular Primary Care Doctor, who doesn't work for the Insurance Company.   The Man will still have his done here at Home coz he Hates going to the VA and doesn't leave Home that much, so for him it is convenient and he prefers it.   I don't mind it, but can see where it can constitute a Conflict Of Interest.   She said for people who are reluctant to go to their Doctor for Well Checks it is better than never having them done, I agree.  But, I'm one to get everything done preventatively that I should to stay Well and before getting Sick.  

I'm really focusing on Easter now, even tho' the lack of evidence it's coming up is disappointing in all the Shops.  A few really have created an Atmosphere of the Holiday, but, very few.   This Year the offerings of anything Easter related are pathetic actually.  But, then again, I Sold Out of all my Vintage Easter, so, my own Showroom is sorely lacking in any evidence of an upcoming Holiday.  I used to have a whole Vintage Easter Vignette every Year in my Showroom, but, have now Sold everything I wanted to Let Go of.   I missed one of the Spring and Easter Themed Events which was this past Weekend, just never made it that far over to the East Valley, too much was going on all at once.    But April 24-27 is "Caravan Of Dreams" Event at "Highland Yard Vintage" and I'll try not to miss that one.

They haven't done any Sneak Peeks yet, and "Sweet Salvage" had their April Event a Week Earlier than usual.  So, I think the one at "Highland Yard Vintage" will be the last one for April.   I just bought Heirloom Chicken Eggs that already are Laid with a Color, I'm Lazy this Year and may or may not actually Color any Eggs with Dyes.  *Ha ha ha*   A lot of Grocers are now carrying the Pasture Raised Heirloom Colored Chicken Eggs now.   And I got some Heirloom Pasture Raised Chicken Pale Blue Eggs this Grocery Run for only $4.99 a Dozen, which was Cheaper than White Eggs laid by Battery Hens.  Actually the Specialty Grocers now are Cheaper than the Big Chain Grocers.  And I prefer my Specialty Grocers anyway.

So, Today The Daughter did do the Grocery Run with me and we stocked up on Perishables of Fresh Veggies and Fresh Fruits.  Right now they were still having Sales on all of it, so, the Tariffs haven't yet driven the Prices up, but I know they will... that and the deportation of all the Migrant Workers who Harvest it here in the U.S. too.   Plus, the inability of American Farmers to get things like Potash that they need from the Overseas Trade Partners like Canada that supply these things we can't get here.   So, for now we are well stocked with Fresh Foods.  I had a Craving for Raw Fresh Veggies with Ranch, Cucumber and Dill Dips.  And Surprisingly even Bananas were on Sale still!

 In fact, this Day they had a Special where if you bought Two of something you got a 3rd of it for Free in the Fresh Foods Dept..  So, I ended up getting $40+ Off in Freebies... of what we were needing and going to Buy anyway.   The Man isn't big on Raw Fresh Foods, but, the Kids and I are.  I guess we could be Vegans easily, except for him.  *LOL*  To get him to eat Fresh Fruit or Fresh Raw Veggies is damned near Impossible, I guess he wasn't Raised eating them like I was and how I Raised all the Kiddos to like such things too?   A big Veggie Tray like this one will last mebbe 2 Days max around here.  And I buy the big Containers of the Fresh Dips like Cucumber, Ranch, Dill, & Spinach to dunk them in.  I remember when The G-Kid Force were Wards of the State, Miss Robin, our incredible CPS Caseworker, said we ate more Healthy Fresh Foods than anyone she'd ever had a Case with!

When they do the Visits they will look in your Fridge and Cupboards to see if you have Food Insecurities or Unhealthy Habits.  She said she never had a problem knowing our Kiddos were eating the most Natural Foods and clearly enjoying them and preferring them.  Usually I had spare Kids, from the Historic Barrio we lived in at the time, over to share a Meal with our Grandkids.  I'd set up Mad Tea Parties for them with Fresh Fruit and Veggie Trays with Dips, tiny European Style Finger Sandwiches, as well as Herbal Teas in China Teacups, they'd have a blast pretending they were in Wonderland.  They'd be wearing my Vintage Hats I Collected and sometimes draping themselves with Lace Curtains, it was hilarious and so much Fun.

A Blast From That Past Pix of Princess T in some of her Mad Tea Party Finery.   A Blog Friend of mine in Cali who did Themed Events Professionally had Gifted her with that Custom Made Hat, along with some China Teacups.   Miss Robin got a kick out of doing her Visits and seeing such things going on with our Grandkids and their Neighborhood Friends, who quite often spent more time at our House than their own.  *LOL*   A lot of the Kiddos in that Barrio came from very Poor Working Immigrant Families so I didn't mind them coming over and having a Meal with our Grandkids, it helped their Moms out a lot.   In return, when the Moms had their Days off and were having any Special Celebrations, they'd Invite our Grandkids over and feed them and give me a Respite. So it was some good reciprocity among Neighbors, even tho' often there was a Communication Barrier and the Kiddos translated for the Adults.

Now all those Kiddos are Grown Adults and still fondly recall all the Fun Times they had at our House, so I'm glad we were making Special Memories.   I grew up like that, my Parents always had Spare Kids and even Spare Young Adults over for Meals, all the time.  *LOL*   With my Dad being a Master Chef, he just LOVED Cooking for anyone and for larger gatherings particularly.  I have loads of fond Memories my own Parents made of Meals Shared with our Friends and Neighbors while Growing Up and even after we were Grown.  My Dad, every Holiday, Invited any Young G.I.'s from the Base who couldn't get Leave to go Home for the Holidays, to have their Holiday Meal at our House.  So, every Thanksgiving and Christmas, we always had Young Single Military Men Sharing those Holiday Meals with us.  I'm Friends with many of them to this Day and they fondly recall Meals at my Parent's Home.

The Easter Egg Hunts were Epic, The Son, who was a Teenager, along with The Man and some of his Brothers, who would visit from Utah for the Holidays, would Hide the Eggs for all the Kids.  Well, being Teen and Grown Guys, they'd Hide those damned things so well a great many wouldn't be Found 'til literally YEARS later on our Acreage at the Historic Property!!!   The contents would be petrified or melted, the Plastic Eggs Faded from Years in the Elements, hidden too well to be Found.  *LOL*  But it was Fun and we had so many Plastic filled Eggs that no Kid didn't have an abundance of them and go away Happy with their Haul.   Our Kiddos aren't Sugar Fiends and don't really like Candy that much, so they just enjoyed The Thrill Of The Hunt and gave most of their Candy away to their Friends anyway.

And Princess T was a Fashionista even way back then and so she always had to have a Special Easter Ensemble and go pick it out for herself.  Many times The Young Prince's Dad and his Family would fund the Easter Dress Purchases, even tho' Biologically she's not Bobby's Child, they always Spoiled her like she was.   Her Dad had been Deported back to Mexico not long after she was Born and could never get back into the Country.  Which is Why The Daughter went to Live in Mexico and had Three more Children there, since we were Raising the Oldest Two here. His Work VISA had expired and been unable to be Renewed even tho' at the time he was a Supervisor and I.T. Guru at an American Boeing Plant.  So, it was typical Immigration Madness that has needed Reform now for literally my entire Lifetime and is ridiculously implemented.   But, I'm having a Nostalgic Sweet Moment so we won't ruin it with that whole Testy Topic that is a Trigger for Yours Truly!!!  *Winks*

 

The Easter Baskets were always ridiculous... becoz... well, tho' Raising a 2nd Generation, we were the Grandparents after all.  *LOL*   Some Years I made up the Baskets, other Years they were Store Bought.  I think this Year I found in the Easter Past Archives I Bought the Baskets and let the Kiddos pick them out.   She liked that Colorful Bead Necklace and some very Over-The-Top Red Butterfly Shapes Sunglasses that were in this Basket, that also had a Backpack for School... tho' at the time she was too Young to go to School, she'd Pretend and always had to have a Backpack with School Supplies.  *Smiles*  I think she Played School more before ever going to School than any Kid I ever Raised!!!   Then, poor thing, when she finally went to School, becoz of her Learning Disabilities being quite profound, it was always an epic struggle for her, but, she gave it her all, Bless her. 

The Young Prince always wanted to do anything with his Little Sister that she wanted to do, he was a very Fine Big Brother.  And she was a very Bossy Little Sister.  *Bwahahaha*  Wonder where she got THAT from?!   Humnnnnn, a Clue, when I was about this Age, and even Younger, my Nickname was Bossy Boots after a British Cartoon Character of the same Name of a Show called "Torchy The Battery Boy" {1959-1961}.  My Parents said from the Age of only Two, I'd be Bossing around Teenage Boys in our Neighborhood and they'd do anything I said!   And, apparently I never Stopped being a Boss Bitch... *Bwahahahaha*  Well, Princess T is very much cut from the same Cloth.

That's Bossy Boots with the Pigtails, I still have a Torchy Children's Book from my Childhood in fact, mine is in Color.   My Mom said I could Read at the Age of 2, apparently I was a very Advanced Child.  My Parents said I could also Speak Five Languages fluently as a Toddler and would Translate for them when we lived in Europe.   I don't know what the fuck happened as I got Older, coz, well, now... you know.   And the Olive Garden/Red Lobster Story above... so... mebbe I wore my Brain out when I was Younger, I dunno?!  *Bwahahahaha*   I did have some Fun trawling thru some of my Holiday Photo Archives of Spring Past... and of some of the Family and Friends from way back then.  Having gatherings and good times every Holiday, mostly at our House, but sometimes at various Friend's Homes or Reserving a Ramada at one of the County Parks for Easter.

Nobody does that so much anymore, the Young Generations just aren't as Social as our Generations were.   I attribute that to Technology Isolating People Socially more and more.   Yes, they're on their Devices a lot, and on The Book of Faces they might think they have 15,000 "Friends", but, it's not like actual Socializing in Person and cultivating Friendships that way.   Yes, Social Media is great for keeping in Touch from a Distance, but, if folks are Local, I think they should Invest more Time getting together in Person.   Your Time is the most Valuable Asset you can ever Give to someone.  Even when you extend Invitations these days, a great many folks don't or won't show up, from what my Kiddos tell me about their Generations.  Granted, we still get Daily Guests coz we have always Hosted folks at our Home.  But, they say they don't visit many other people like that or feel as Welcome in a Home as they do here.  The Gift of Hospitality is waning in America.

And each Generation it seems to worsen IMO.  I am like a Dinosaur in that I think Interpersonal Relationships are still Important to bond Humanity.  I think much of the Social Intolerance is due to the Social Isolationism.   And this whole toxic MAGA Nationalist Movement is the Kiss Of Death for any Nation Cultivating Relationships with other Nations.  The World is more Interdependent upon one another in Modern Times than we ever have been and it's benefited most Nations greatly to have that Partnership of Trading Goods and improving each Nation's Economy and Lifestyle being elevated.   I hear this Moronic Administration talking about the Good Ole' Days of America being around 1880's-1900 and I'm like, are you fucking Serious!?   Who would want to go Backwards to Live in that Era, Seriously?   Said nobody ever...

Anyway, looking slightly back to some actual Good Old Days of having a much more Active Social Life than we tend to have now, I do miss all that Gathering of Neighbors and Friends that we always had.  Of coarse I miss so many of the Friends who have now moved away or passed away too.  The only Constant IS Change actually and so you have to embrace it as it morphs into how it just is and will be for each Generation.  They'll probably look back fondly on things happening now that will be their Fond Memories Made I guess?   Hopefully all the high Drama going on will pass, fade away, and barely be a Memory, or one we'd rather forget coz it was some being on the Bad and Wrong Side of History.   All these Kiddos ARE now going to BE The Future and I Pray they will do better than previous Generations have.   Hopefully they will BE The Change that America so desperately Needs?

As most everyone's Grandkids are now Growing Up and having their Kids now, that's a whole New Generation coming up behind even them.  I won't be around to see much of their Adult Future, but I really do Hope it will be a Brighter one for them?  They Deserve it to be.   The Dinosaurs in Power now are wrecking the Future for our Youth and it deeply disturbs me, becoz, those Old Fuckers don't have a Future and so they're acting as if they don't Care about the Future Generations at all, having one either!!!   A Prominent Saying of True Wisdom in Indigenous Cultures, usually attributed to the Iroquois, is that Decisions should consider the impact on the Seventh Generation.   The Seven Generations Principle emphasizes responsibility for Future Generations for those who will Inherit the Earth.   We do not Inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we Borrow it from our Children.  

I find it quite Ironic that Cultures considered less Civilized actually have more Profound Wisdom than those who think they are so much more Civilized and Advanced.  Anyway, I've always Lived in such a way that I always consider the Future Generations and what they will Inherit from the impact I've made during this Life I have been given.   If the World is even slightly a better place for me having been in it, then I've Served my Purpose here during my allotted Time.   If each one of us Lived with that as a Standard, perhaps the World truly would be a better place for us having been in it and Serving our Purposes?   So many, far too many, live without Purpose and without Serving anyone but themselves... mebbe they don't have a Clue what their Purpose even is, or Care what it should have been, I dunno?

I'm trying to remain at least Guardedly Optimistic that Good will prevail over Evil in The End... and if it hasn't yet, it isn't The End.

*******

But, this is The End of this Post my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian