Fast Track To Heaven

Sometimes I wonder if there is a fast track to heaven. If there is, I think that there might be a seat reserved for me. If there is not, I have let a lot of people slide on things that should have been addressed. As I get older, I pick and choose arguments. I do a quick evaluation of whether or not a situation matters enough to me to point it out to the offending party. I weigh the pros and cons and try to figure out what the bottom line will be before I act. In most cases it is just not worth it, so I choose to ignore it and not make waves. I hope my decisions will be rewarded because if not, there are a bunch of people who really need to be straightened out that weren't.

Surprise

Last night my sister had a surprise 65th birthday party. Just writing the number 65 seems weird. To me she is still 25. She does not look nor act her age. My brother in law put a lot of thought and effort into making this celebration and all of his hard work paid off. She was totally surprised when she walked into the room. The guest list was all of the people that were special in her life. She has many friends and if everyone was invited we would have needed a large hall, so just the special few were there. The food was great and the dessert was delicious. The best part was seeing my father sitting next to her. My mother was there in spirit.

Not Enough Time

As usual, I picked up my father from dialysis yesterday. Some Fridays he seems peppy and others he seems sad. Yesterday was a bit of a sad day. He wanted Chinese food so we headed to the take out and were planning to eat there. When we entered the store it was freezing, so we took the food to go. He is not a fussy eater but he did not like the food. The soup was too thick (which it was). The chow fun tasted very salty (which it was). He finished his food and we went into the living room to read. This is the regular routine. He took his power nap and when he got up he started to cry. He said he missed my mother and that he did not have enough time with her. That statement made me feel both happy and sad. To be with someone for almost 67 years and think that it was not enough time, is a testament of his love for her. That made me happy. To be with someone for almost 67 years and miss them so much, is also a testament of his love for her. That made me sad. I do not think that he realizes that when he speaks about his wife, he is also speaking about my mother. If he is hurting then so am I.

Hit The Save Button

Yesterday I went to an ENT specialist. After months of congestion, I decided that I needed a specialist. I called on Monday and was told that the first opening was Thursday at 3pm. They said that I had not been there since 2013 and I gave them my updated insurance information. I arrived at 2:30pm and when I signed in, the receptionist looked at me oddly. She asked if I had an appointment. I said that I had a 3pm. She said that it was not in her schedule. I recounted my conversation from Monday and she said that the insurance was updated but no appointment was there. I looked at her very calmly and said that if the insurance was changed and I knew that the office opened at 3pm, it was not my error but theirs. She was a very nice woman and told me not to be concerned as I would be seen at 3pm just as I had been told. She handled a bad situation very well. At 3pm I was promptly taken. I must commend the receptionist for knowing how to handle herself and making me feel that the office was well run.

Third Degree

It is three degrees outside. It is so cold that even with a coat on, Shelby did not want to go out. He ran out for a few seconds, did the minimum of his needs and ran back in. If I had to go to the bathroom naked in three degree temperatures, I would run in too. The technical name for this weather band is Polar Vortex. My name for it is F*cking Cold Out.

No Consolation

One of the doctors in work has two elderly parents. They are 96 and 97 years old. A few weeks ago her father was sent to the hospital because he was not feeling well. He is now in a rehab nursing facility. The doctor is heartbroken not only that her father is probably not going to survive much longer, but for the fact that her mother will be without him after 75 years of marriage. I totally understand what she is going through. I have spoken to her a few times about this and tried to ease her pain as best as I could with kind understanding words. Yesterday my receptionist answered the phone and it was the doctor calling from the rehab to say she would be a few minutes late for her patient. I did not hear what the doctor was saying but I heard what my receptionist was saying. I could fill in the blanks since I know the situation. This is what I heard: The doctor must have said, "My father is not doing well". My receptionist answered, "Well, he is 97 and no one lives forever". The doctor must have then said something like, "My mother wants him to get better and come home", to which the receptionist's answer was, "We can all wish for whatever we want but that's not the way it works. You don't always get what you wish for, sorry". I sat there with my hand on my face, like The Thinker statue. Was I really hearing this? My grandchildren could have consoled her better. My receptionist has a 90 year old mother living with her, so she should have a bit more compassion. When the shoe is on the other foot, is that how she would want people to react?

Two Applicants

I had two appointments for job interviews yesterday. One was set for 9:30am and the other 10:30am. At 9:24am I got a call that the woman waslost on the 4th floor and she could not find our door. I told her that we were on the 1st floor, so why was she on the 4th? A few minutes later the door opened and a woman walked in and sat in the far corner of the waiting room. Other patients slowly filtered in. I knew the first person was the applicant, but did not know why she did not have enough sense to come to the front window and get an application to fill out. I decided to let her sit there for a while to see if what she would do. After 10 minutes I opened the window and said, "Which doctor are you here to see?" She said she was here for an interview. The patient sitting next to her told her that when you come for an interview you are supposed to go to the window and say you are here. The woman looked baffled. I knew that the interview would be short and she was not getting the job. As she filled out the application, the next interviewee walked in. She said she was early for the 10:30am interview (it was 9:45am) but she wanted to make sure she was on time. I took in the first woman and spent about 4 minutes with her. She had not worked since 2009 due to a "brutal divorce". I brought the next girl in and she was wonderful. She was hired!