Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2006. Mattie was three and a half years old and by that time, he LOVED the bathtub. Which was really remarkable, since Mattie hated water for the longest time. However, once he became comfortable with it, he was like a fish. He wanted a bath everyday. The main reason was he loved dumping toys in the water and coming up with all sorts of fun play schemes in the tub.
Quote of the day: The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. ~ Arnold Glasow
Honestly if I knew how any given day would turn out, I probably wouldn't get out of bed in the morning! My dad's fitness trainer was coming over this morning at 11am. Things were running smoothly and I finished my dad's morning routine before Teddy arrived. While my dad was doing his exercises with Teddy, my mom was resting (SLEEPING) in the other room. Yes she wakes up at 5:30am, just to fall asleep at 11am. This is a daily pattern. She gets up very early and takes about four hours to get herself together in the morning before she can come downstairs for breakfast.
Once Teddy left, I woke my mom and told her if she wanted to go, now was the time. I left her and got myself together, made my dad a snack, and then checked back in with her. It was at that point that I found her on the phone with my dad's health insurer. When my mom makes a phone call, I always have to listen in initially to see who exactly she is talking to. When I found she was taking to a health insurer, I admit I wasn't happy with this decision. I walked out of the room and decided to do some Foundation work.
However, I could hear the call wasn't going well. I let her try to manage the call, but about 30 minutes into it, I stepped in. She had two women on the phone, both from the insurance company. Both of these women were adamant that my dad DOESN'T have health coverage anymore and that they have received no monthly premium payments that my mom has been sending in for this coverage. In addition, they said their health insurance company doesn't cover the state of Virginia. I honestly was perplexed, but they told me I had to go back to my dad's employer and find out what was going on with his benefits. Mind you he is retired! They said that did not matter.
When I tell you that this dysfunctional call sent me on a two hour wild goose chase, I am NOT KIDDING you. I literally spoke to two human resource people at the company my dad used to work at and they were lovely! Lovely but one couldn't answer my questions and the other said that my dad retired in 2001, so any benefits he is getting is now out of his own pocket. After a complete run around, I decided to call back the health insurer again. Yes I know we had a 45 minute call with them already, but I felt like I had no other choice. They were the only ones who could provide the answers!
With this second call, I had my act together and had in hand documentation of coverage and the simple fact that this insurer has been paying my dad's medical bills. However, this representative I got on the phone was like a night and day difference from the first two. She found my dad in the computer system, found all the premium payments, and answered my mom's original question. The original question which precipitated the phone call three hours ago!
I am simplifying this nightmare, but at one point, I assure you I wanted to scream. My mom, as I told her today, is a walking train wreck. Yet refuses to ask for help! Instead, she walks into calls and interactions and most likely confuses whom ever she is talking with, and at the end of the day, I have to come in and clean it up the mess.
This all requires a great deal of patience. Both of my parents have no understanding or insight for the amount of time they absorb in my day. In fact, I don't think they give it any thought, as my existence is to manage their needs, concerns, and care. So unlike what tonight's quote implies, today I most definitely wanted to smash many eggs.
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