Appointments and Busyness

  We deliberately keep our lives fairly simple.  Most people I know have their kids in a bunch of extra curriculars, but we do not.  Some LARGE families do soccer and karate and plays and all that, and of course that is fine. We have just decided being quiet and home much of the time is the best thing for our family.

  Weeks like this last one reinforce that decision, and weeks like this one stress me out. I worked 2 afternoons and had 3 prescheduled doctor appointments on Thursday and Friday.  Thursday morning, Lydia's finger brace broke so we had to make an emergency physical therapy appointment to get a new brace made.  Kevin kindly came home from work to take Lydia, and Kevin's mom graciously came over to watch the younger children, because I already had an orthodontics consult for Naomi and Joseph.  Regarding the orthodontics appointment, we need to figure out exactly what to do. We're praying and seeking wisdom as the course of treatment isn't 100% obvious.

I dislike the feeling of tearing around, rushing in and out, etc.  BUT, once again -- it is a blessing to have doctors and nurses and orthodontists and physical therapists and health insurance.  A blessing!

 When I went to work on Tuesday, I discovered to my shock that several people are being laid off from my company.  One is -- not a close friend, but a friend. So that was sad.  There was a going away luncheon on Wednesday and I talked with this lady for a while. Her entire career has consisted of short term stints (by short term, I mean  few years) at various companies and in various positions.  She keeps getting laid off. Her work ethic is fantastic, she is very pleasant, and everyone has only good things to say about her. But, the money dried up in one sector of the company, and they had to let her go.

  One other guy is retiring/laid off. He is 73!  Kevin knew him back when Kevin was just a wet behind the ears intern.

  I am thankful, once again, that Kevin has been blessed with much job stability. He keeps shifting to new positions within the Air Force, but he's never been threatened with a layoff.

  Friday morning, I took Rose and Angela in for well child checkups. Rose looks thin to me and indeed, she has gained only 4 or 5 oz in the last 3 months.  She is now just under 18.5 lbs.  The doctor and I talked through that.  Her height and head circumference are staying on the curve, and she's always been small, and I have lots of other thin children, so the doc is Ok with it.  I am going to try to add more fat and protein to her diet.  She does eat, but she's not a really enthusiastic eater.

Angela, age 8, gained only 2 lbs this year while adding 3 inches in height. She is also very thin and quite tall for her age.  She is a good eater but a busy girl.  So yeah, tall, thin kids are the norm around here.  I know some people don't bother with well childs for an 8 year old but I like a basic look see every year, to check for scoliosis if nothing else.

This coming week I'm already feeling stressed because I've got appointments Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Friday mornings!  Sigh. However, we'll get through this week and the schedule should ease up.  The M and T appointments are just for flu shot/flu mist.  Ideally, 6 kids could have gone in at once (3 got their vaccinations on Friday), but they couldn't fit all 6 in at the same time.  I know the pediatrician keeps running out of flu shots and mists, so I want to get it done while they still have them in stock.

I have a GREAT many friends who don't vaccinate.  It is very common in the homeschooling community.  Obviously we do vaccinate, a decision we made based on our personal study of the issues involved.  I am in favor of parental choice in this matter.  My belief is that once the government starts forcing mandatory shots on healthy people, we're walking into very dangerous waters.

Many people choose not to get the flu vaccine and indeed, I really can understand that. They are always guessing at the right strains to cover and people always get sick with some non covered strain.  But for us, with 3 people who get violently ill with the flu, I feel like it is a priority to make it happen. We still have rotten memories of the 2009 Swine Flu Epidemic.  Everyone got sick and I got the sickest. I spent 3 weeks in bed with horrible breathing from an unending asthma attack, and a follow up lung test showed potential damage, though I've been fine since then so I think I'm Ok. But that was nasty.

And that reminds me, I need to get a flu shot.