Counting Our Blessings

Garden Rose

I haven't posted much this week and I haven't kept up with my blog reading, either (but, I will catch up on the blog reading in the next day or two, I promise), because I have been fervently counting our blessings, these past few days.  Since the beginning of the month, really.

On Tuesday, July 1, I had an appointment with the specialist to have a screening test done which turned out to be clear; which was a blessing.

I followed it up with a blood test on Monday, July 7.  The lab tech claimed that he did not have the lab requisition, which had been faxed over by the doctor's office.  He looked for it on his computer monitor and I wondered why he checked the computer, but, I thought that, maybe, they scan the faxes in order not to have a pile of papers.  He told me to ask the doctor's office to fax it again.  So, I called them and they faxed it over and I waited in the waiting room for the lab tech to call me in.  Except he didn't.  Another lab tech saw me waiting and asked if I had been helped and I explained that I was waiting for the fax to arrive and she said she will check into it.  A short time later, the first lab tech came to the waiting room with the fax in his hand; apparently, he was expecting the lab requisition to be emailed!  I didn't ask him why he told me to ask the doctor's office to fax it if he had meant to say email it.  I was not going to say anything that might anger someone who was going to insert a needle into my artery!  Instead, I apologized for any confusion on my part and counted my blessings: access to medical care, health insurance, diagnostic tests, fax machines!  Hopefully, the blood test results will be available when I go for the scan on Monday, July 14.

On Wednesday, July 2, I spent most of the day watching live coverage of the debate and voting on the budget bill in the House of Representatives and stayed up all night, too.  I have always been interested in such procedures and had followed its passage in the Senate, too.  In this particular instance, I was keen to find out what the outcome would be.  While I watched the live coverage, I counted my blessings: being able to watch live coverage of the proceedings. 

The budget bill was voted on and passed on Thursday, July 3 and signed into law on Friday, July 4.  With that, I knew that my daughter might be out of a job.  Her position is grant funded and 70% of her salary comes from one particular federal grant which was eliminated.  Current funding for this grant will end at the end of September.  The balance 30% of my daughter's salary comes from another, non-federal grant that will continue to be funded for at least next year.  Nothing is certain, of course.  Her employers are trying to figure out which positions will be eliminated and who will go and who will stay, in accordance with their employment policies and funding availability.

Faced with the reality of a 70% cut in pay, my daughter and I have been counting our blessings:

- It's a blessing that her position is not 100% funded by this one grant; some of her colleagues are. 

- It's a blessing that she will still be employed 30% of her time.  Unfortunately, daughter needs to be employed at least 50% of her time in order to qualify for employer paid health insurance and she needs health insurance in order to afford her asthma medications.  Of, as she puts it, "In order to be able to breathe".  We are looking into the costs of self paid health insurance.

- It's a blessing that she had already decided she would move down to live with me when I turn 70 and had decided not to renew the lease on her apartment when the current one ended at the end of August.  She would not be able to afford the rent she's currently paying on just 30% of her salary.  And had she renewed her lease, it would have been very costly to get out of it.

- It's a blessing that she will be able to come home to live with me.  It's a blessing that I have a home for her to come back to.  It's a blessing that I will have my daughter living with me, again.

- It's a blessing that, by living at home with me, she will not have to pay rent and there will be very little living expenses for her, at least until she finds another job.  Of course, she would love to be able to continue to work at her present job; she loves the work she does and the people with whom she works, but, it would be a challenge to live on 30% of ones income.

- It's a blessing that she has no obligations - no mortgage to pay, no dependents to support, no student loans or other debt.  One of her colleagues is expecting her first baby; another has recently purchased a house and taken on a mortgage; others might have student loans and other obligations.

- It's a blessing she has an emergency fund and savings in place.  She says I have drilled the importance of budgeting, saving, and having an emergency fund into her and she's grateful for that.

- It is a blessing that her apartment management asked if she could vacate her apartment a month before she was due to as it meant she doesn't have to pay August's rent.  It was stressful to bring forward the date and make arrangements to move out on a shorter time frame than planned, but, she is making it happen and negotiated a deal where the management will give her a monetary compensation for leaving early.  That compensation and what she saves on the August rent will pay for the costs of moving.

- She is blessed with good friends who have offered to help her move her belongings to the shipping container she will rent; the container will be delivered to the company's warehouse at this end and she has some friends lined up to help her unload the boxes and bring them to the house.  I, too, will be able to help her with that.

- It is a blessing that we can focus on our many blessings and not stress too much about such drastic changes to her income and potential loss of employer paid health insurance, etc.  

In addition, we are blessed with family and friends who are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers after I confided in them about my health issues and my daughter's job uncertainties.

I believe that things happen for a reason, even though we might not always know the reasons why they happen, especially at the time.  Perhaps, with hindsight, it might become clearer.  Maybe some day we will look back and say, "Wasn't it a blessing that happened?"

My mother used to say that change was good.  My daughter and I are determined to seek the good in this change.  We are focusing on the positives and, yes, counting our blessings.  We are both grateful for those blessings and thankful we have each other and are able to be there for each other.