Progress in The System

I haven't had much time to compose decent posts here lately because we've been so tied up with administrative stuff.  But it's having the desired effect.  Marcy finally got approved for Ohio Medicaid For The Disabled and we picked a carrier, so now we're waiting for delivery of the manual & provider directory so she can choose a primary care physician and then make an appointment.  That's a real relief to me.  Our son Derek got approved for Medicaid pretty quickly because he is under 18, no quibbles about it.  That's the way it should be - we provide for the care of those who really need it.  We also spent an afternoon at Social Security and I think she'll finally get approved for SSI assistance.  It still has to be looked at by some state disability board but I think it's the same one that just approved her Medicaid, so we should be OK there.  Too bad she is not eligible for regular Social Security Disability, but they ruled that she did not have enough work on the books.  Raising kids, caring for the home & neighborhood, being a room mother, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the PTA - these activities are irrelevant to Social Security.  It's for workers, not volunteers, and it's mostly women who pay make that sacrifice, who pay the price when they become disabled and find big gaping holes in the safety net.

I swear this picture was not selected to go with my next topic:  bankruptcy.  Our hearing is scheduled for mid-May, not much to do on our end but take Part 2 of the required credit counseling.  Part 1 told us that we were not doing anything wrong or living extravagantly, but that we got dealt a tough hand to play.

Sometimes I can detach from all this struggle and view it objectively.  It's interesting to consider all your possessions and their value in regard to the precious minutes of your life that are required to earn stuff, buy stuff, store stuff, clean stuff, dispose of stuff, let alone just to ENJOY the stuff.  The picture above came about when I realized I spent more time skimming than swimming and just let the chips fall where they may.  It's also interesting to be told that you can't get help because you have too much stuff.  And there are whole industries based on taking away your stuff and more industries built on the sorry fact that you ain't got no stuff.  Aw, stuff it!  George Carlin might say, "Move your crap so I have a place for my stuff."

Today is Marcy's mom's birthday.  Stella is 94.  We'll go visit her and take her a little gift, a framed collage of some recent photos of the boys playing music.  We wanted her to have a tangible reminder that they are not little babies anymore but young men getting on with their own lives.  She can't keep much stuff, but she'll like the picture.