Really?!?

              Well, dear readers, I've said this many times before but now I feel the need to say it again LOUDER.  The Affordable Care Act is important and valuable. It improves and saves lives. Is it perfect? NO.  But it beats what we had before by a mile.  Perfect,  by the way, would be nationalized medical care.  Medicare for all would fit that bill nicely.   Do not hand me any nonsense about the government taking care of us.  That is EXACTLY what they are supposed to do. That is exactly what we pay them for. We all put in our dollar and the roads get paved, fires get put out, schools get built. The public good is government's only function.  Otherwise, what purpose does it serve?  We are a democracy, not some feudal system where all benefits trickle up to the nobility.

              But for those of you who may not understand what good Obamacare serves, let me explain.  First, everyone deserves health care.  It is a right, not a privilege.   If you think there are human beings out there who do NOT deserve health care, then your soul is crippled and you need professional help. Which would be covered under a good health care plan.   Second, eliminating pre-existing conditions is a life saver. The idea of them is frankly, offensive.    Life time caps are also offensive.  How dare any company put a monetary limit on human life?!?  (Stop being bloodsucking vampires feeding off human illness and pain. )

              Eliminating pre-existing conditions meant that my daughter, who is disabled due to a birth injury, could grow up and get a career, pay taxes, and do all those things that someone doomed to poverty could not.  Feisty Pants would not be stuck with medicaid forever because private insurance would never cover her.   She will need life time medical care to simply live, not thrive, not succeed, LIVE.  Eliminating life time caps means no one could pull the rug out from under her and take away the things her insurance pays for like durable medical equipment, expensive formulas, medications that keep her alive.   Repeal Obamacare and she is stuck under the poverty limit for life.  And I never, ever want to hear one more supposed decent human being then complain about people not picking themselves up by the bootstraps.  They cannot do so when you have stolen their boots and cut off their feet, you selfish jerks.

             It will also be much more expensive for society in the long run. People who cannot get a simple antibiotic end up in hospitals with major infections.   It's cheaper to pay about 100 bucks for a simple doctor visit and an antibiotic than a $4,000 er visit.  Or a $50,000 hospital stay. And the people who cannot afford to pay for doctors are usually the people who cannot afford a day from work, so have fun while they cough on your groceries, fast food, restaurant dishes, toilets, etc., because they are working while sick.  Oh, and cutting back on services for kids like mine mean she will need to be hospitalized more, so there goes everybody's taxes up more because her care is VERY expensive when we cannot keep on top of her continuing health care needs and private insurance will not cover her because you know, Obamacare was so terrible.

                Oh, and don't complain to me about the premiums under Obamacare. The government did not set those premiums.  Greedy private insurance companies did. Aetna raised their rates precisely because the federal government would not approve a monopolistic merger they wanted.  The rest of the companies did so because Aetna got away with it.  But private insurance companies just have your best interests at heart, so let's go back to that shall we?  I'm so sure the premiums will go down when no one is there to restrain them.

                  I really don't want to hear you complain about taxes and the insurance fine either.  Taxes are NOT theft. You get a million benefits for those taxes.  Paved roads. Firemen. The police.  The frigging US military.  A massive amount of medical research. All the fun science we got from NASA that was put to daily use. Snow plows.  Taxes paid for modern civilization. You wanna go back to living in a hovel without central heat and public sewers?  Have fun.  Personally, I like the internet and not having cholera.   Oh, and by the way, you are required by law to have insurance on your car.  And prove that it is safe to drive.  Or else  many places take away the right to drive it in public.  Or fine you. Some places even take the car.   And you know what? It might be inconvenient at times, but it makes the rest of us safer so there's no giant outcry of how dare the government make the roads safe. Suck it up and pay your damn bills, including health insurance.  Really don't think you should have to?  Maybe you ought to rethink that whole national healthcare thing then, it might actually be cheaper on top of being better for us all.

                   

          

Self Care for Cold Season

                 Well now, here in Feisty Pantslandia (The Democractic Republic of Feist? First Imperial Feistopia? Pantsgri-la? anywhoo, I'll stop now...)  we have been battling colds since school started, or time began, I don't remember which now. It seems like we just get over one bout of sneezing and aching and complaining and right away, here comes one of the first ones to have had it all snotty and wheezing and achy, again. Sigh. I blame all you touchy feely, happy, affectionate wierdos out there.  Honestly, I am going install a high tech airlock that sprays everyone with purell and lavender oil on my front door any day now.   May not work but everyone will least at smell great.  You're welcome.

                 But until I win the lottery or figure out to diy my own biosphere, I guess we will have to continue battling the season of colds and flu. (The flu, especially, is said to be bad here in NYS this season.) So I thought I would write down a few self care tips to help anyone else stuck in this snotty handkerchief of a January.  Anything to make us all a little more comfortable right now.

                 

1) Ginger, ginger, ginger.- Seriously.  Ginger tea with lemon and honey is really good for throat and sinuses.  It soothes and coats the throat and is also great for troubled tummies. (The reason why everyone drinks ginger ale when they're sick is for the ginger.) Candied ginger especially is proof that the Universe loves us as far as I am concerned.  It's warming, soothing, helps with coughs.  There is even some evidence that ginger will boost your immune system.

2) Homemade vapor rub- Vicks or Dr Unker's are fine but this is all natural  and you can adjust the scent to your liking.

You will need:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 to 2 TBS grated beeswax

5-10 drops eucalyptus essential oil

5-10 drops peppermint essential oil

5-10 drops tea tree oil

10 drops lavender essential oil (optional)

Melt the olive oil and beeswax in a glass jar (I stick things like this in a small glass jar and put the jar in hot water) Stir in essential oils. 

   extra tip- My mother and aunts swore by slathering this on your feet last thing at night, putting on thick socks and going to bed at the first sign of a cold.  Can't say it works for sure, but it's an old wives tale sworn to by a bunch of old wives.

3)Try putting a few drops of peppermint oil or eucalyptus oil in the tub.  You could even throw in a half cup or so of epsom salts  to make it even more soothing. (The magnesium is great for the muscles)  Soak, relax, let the steam open your kid's sinuses (or yours).

4) Don't forget the chicken soup!  Or bone broth.  Or veggie broth for the veg heads like Hippie Pants. Hot broth with a touch of protein and fat works wonders in healing and soothing. 

                  So there ya go.  Just rest and take it easy. I'm sure we will all better in no time. If you need me or Feisty Pants, just text us.  I'm not touching any of you germy buggers until I'm sure you don't have the plague.

To the other parents who have been there

               So I have totally been procrastinating everything and sulking about the universe since November.  It seems like the world is devolving into a Lord of the Flies bully fest where jerk offs are rewarded and everyone else is labeled as prey or foolish. But you know what? Enough. I'm done.  I cannot make the world dance to my drumbeat even if it is the coolest, most awesomest, peace, love, and granola drumbeat you'll ever get to hear. And all my pouting isn't gonna do a thing except bug those I care about and eventually cause me to get on my own nerves. Which I have. Right about this weekend.

               Feisty Pants had a crappy weekend. (Ten people went to my folks for Christmas.  Five now are battling a hideous cold  known as the plague that won't quit.) We spent Friday night at a walk in clinic and Saturday at an ER. She's fine now but it's soul wearying to spend days in a hospital setting when you are not working there and therefore are simply in an enforced waiting period; especially with Feisty Pants, who is a complex patient, and whose every hiccup makes doctors have three intense, whispered conversations with each other about what it means.

                So, now, enough.  I'm tired and crabby.  All my whining is getting on my own nerves. I'm putting my attitude into time out and it's not welcome back until it knows how to behave in public. Which brings me to my point. Action of some kind is what usually snaps me out of a funk.  I was reading this morning about an actress whose infant son had a skull fracture and this scared the hell out of said actress. It was hard when FP was born and we sat, terrified and gobsmacked, waiting for the next doctor/nurse/therapist/specialist/witchdoctor/priest to come around and spout an entire medical text of jargon and scary what ifs and what could bes at us, and we were expecting terrible news due to her birth injury. And I grew up with disabled siblings so I never had to have that heart broken "but it only happens to other people" moment.  I can only imagine what it's what like for a parent whose trauma literally comes out of nowhere. There must be something we can do to help a bit more for the parent first stumbling down this road.

                  Soooooo, I got up this morning and looked at my safety pin on my coat and had a thought.   I know there a million therapy groups and online sites and facebook groups.  But I was never one for too many group anythings. (Honestly I was always a Wednesday Addams in a world of normals...) Isn't there something we can all do, like a safety pin but different, to let the next parent just falling out of bed and stumbling down this road know we are least good for a few pieces of advice, a cup of coffee or at least a safe ear to spout at???  Something that's totally informal and simply says, "We've been where you are and it's cool to approach us."  What do you think? Any ideas?