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Today is Cinco de Mayo day. We do not celebrate Cinco de Mayo in my house because we are not of Mexican heritage, nor is it a feast day on the Catholic calendar. I surmise that Cinco de Mayo, for most Americans, has become a reason to have a party...much like St. Patrick's Day. It makes me a bit sad because that is how history gets watered down. I was driving Faith home from the orthodontist (Driving Miss Faith) today and we passed a Chipotle restaurant with a line out the door. I guess it's nice that our economy is aided by these "holidays." At least some American benefits. Just stay off the roads tonight if you can -- tequila + driving = nothing good.
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My niece Rachel is scheduled to have her radiation infusion treatment next Thursday for those of you kind souls who are praying for her (thank you!). I checked in with her the other day and she had had a bit of a setback. She had just learned that the hospital where the procedure had been scheduled does not "accept" her insurance -- military insurance. The procedure had been scheduled for a month or more and she learned just days before it was scheduled that is was a no-go. Civilian hospitals/docs and military insurance don't mix very well. Sigh. For those very few of you out there who still think government insurance is a good idea...take note.
She was also feeling grumpy because she has to be on a low iodine diet until the procedure, I imagine so the cancerous thyroid cells will absorb the maximum amount of radioactive iodine. I expect that when she looked at the written diet she saw nothing that looked familiar all (i.e. no typical teenage fare) and became rather despondent. I emailed her a bunch of recipes for good clean cooking and I hope that she will give it a try. I hate to think of the poor girl not only loosing her freedom while she is in isolation, but also anything yummy to eat. I wish I could be there with her.
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The other night Doug, Faith and I drove over to the Home Depot to pick out tile for the kids' bath. Wow. I thought it would take five minutes and we were there for an hour and a half. Ridiculous. I must say mostly it was my husband's fault because he has champagne taste and I have a beer budget.
Anyway, we were driving there and as Doug exited the freeway, the driver of a noisy truck pulled up in the right lane, gunned his engine and flipped us off. I suggested it was due to my husband's driving but he suggested it was due to my pro-life bumper sticker.
As he drove past us and made his inappropriate gesture, Faith, because she is nine and because she is Faith said, "How rude! Why did that man point at us, mom?" I played dumb and said, "Oh, did he?" She said, "Yes, he did and I think he sped up his truck just so we would notice him so he could point at us." Sigh. She gets it, she just doesn't really get it. And for that I thank our good God.
Happy May 5. It's the feast of St. Jutta (Judith) and that, I believe, I will celebrate.
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People celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
ReplyDeleteOne in three babies dies from "choice". I didn't realize the number was so high. I have seven children. That means for every two of them, one other baby somewhere was killed. 3 and a half babies. What a terrible thing to think about, and what kind of hard person did that truck driver have to be to make a point of insulting you for saying so?
:-(
Praying for your niece, too.
And if you count the numbers of chemical abortions due to artificial birth control the number goes WAAAY up. So, so sad.
ReplyDeleteYes, he was a sad face, for sure!
PS Thanks for the prayers.
My guys are also still insulated from what "the finger" means, for now . . . They think the "s" word is "stupid" and the "f" word is "fart" Sadly, Francie is catching on, thanks to peers and the school bus.
ReplyDeleteAnd we don't do Cinco de mayo either. In fact, I called Rob at lunch time today and all I could hear was loud music. I asked him where he was and he laughed and said, "Taco Bell. It's Cinco de Mayo." Arg --I could have made him fajitas for dinner! ;)
Yes, let us celebrate the feast of St. Judith! and me...I am 50 today! Someone told me earlier today that I've crossed the great divide from fat, frumpy, and 40, to fun and fabulous 50...I like that. :)
ReplyDeleteWe had nachos for lunch today after seeing all the Cinco de Mayo stuff and hearing the music at Trader Joe's today. Whoopie!
ReplyDeleteMy husband always says that gesture means we're Number One! Comes in handy at the Life Chain.
I love TexMex food a lot . . . but we're not celebrating cinco de mayo either.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that finger pointing. It happens. We have to just pray for those angry folks. We're all going to be attacked one way or another because we Love Him.
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteWe DO celebrate Cinco de Mayo, because it gives us a reason to eat the Mexican food we so enjoy, and our middle boy was born in New Mexico. We were stationed there in the AF, met some wonderful Hispanics - and those people know how to cook GREAT food! (meaning authentic Mexican foods, not our Americanized Taco Bell, etc.) We do not drink, so we only celebrate with food.
We also have military insurance... and I beg to differ about your "government insurance" statement. The government's Health Care Plan and military insurance are two VERY different things - please do not lump them together!
The military insurance does have some very frustrating hoops to jump through - but we have EXCELLENT insurance. (We have remote coverage: only civilian doctors/hospitals with military insurance. No military bases anywhere near where we are stationed.) Two years ago, my hysterectomy was scheduled, denied and canceled, and re-scheduled, too.
Once one learns the process and the hoops, it works extremely well. I wouldn't give our insurance up for anything.
Blessings to you, and happy Feast of St. Judith!
I really like our military insurance, too, and one of things they talked about with Obamacare was downgrading our insurance so we wouldn't have something better than what everybody else was getting. We'll keeping ours post-retirement, too.
ReplyDeleteOh Aimee, I wish we could keep them all that way!
ReplyDeleteSara,
I'll Have to remember that -- "we're number one!"
Sarah,
Yeah, I can live with it, I just hate for my kids to get that education.
Lori,
I was not at all implying that military insurance is bad. On the contrary -- military insurance in military hospitals and with military docs is great. My brother lives and works near D.C. and his 19 yo daughter has thyroid cancer. Her civilian doc (a civilian thyroid oncologist) treats in civilian hospitals and therein lies the problems. A lot of D.C. folks just use military hospitals and they have great medical care. Rachel has to see this doc, so she has to work her way through the system (and because she's 19 they go through her and not her parents -- another beef of mine). My implication that those who want government insurance should rethink was simply that they would constantly have to work the system because every doc and every hospital will not be "accepting" government insurance.
Jennie,
My brother is retired and I'm sure very grateful for his insurance, it's just those darned hoops...
Still praying for your dear niece, Barbara! Also wanted to pop over and wish you a lovely Mother's Day, filled with grace and blessings. It's my turn for Prom weekend, a long with First Communion and Mother's Day...what a combo! I can't remember if I commented on your son's prom post but I sure enjoyed it. I wish I were as gifted as you in the food department for everything coming down the pike. God Bless!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your prayers, Tiffany. You have a veeeerrry busy (and emotional) weekend ahead! Prayers for you!
ReplyDeleteHaven't popped in to your blog as much as I usually do because my husband Bob is in the hospital with breathing problems. He has asthma, and they can't seem to get his blood oxygen where it should be: they said it was the lowest they'd seen --in a person who was still alive! He's in Veteran's Hospital, and the care is excellent. I have been, and will continue to be praying for Rachel, your sweet niece. Happy Mother's Day! Rosemary
ReplyDeleteCinco de Mayo was on a Thursday this year, so...spaghetti. That's what we do on Thursdays.
ReplyDeleteBig Brother and friends went to Center City Philly in search of Mexican, only to find lines out the door. They wound up in Chinatown, having duck, with no wait.
Prayers continue for your niece== that the treatment goes well and she tolerates it well, that the insurance confusion is straightened out, AND that she manages things with the special diet.