Oh Joy of Joys!

Yesterday I went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for KidThree and didn't pay a thing--Medi-Cal FINALLY covered it. This is something that I've had to purchase, full price retail, for the past fifteen months at approximately $100 a pop. Fifteen months of arguing with insurance, of doctors trying different wording to find the magic combination that would persuade Medi-Cal that this item was necessary, that less expensive products had been shown to be ineffective, explaining to each new person just why we used this particular item and what happened when less expensive options were tried. Oh my. Finally, yesterday, I got to pick it up and not pay anything out of pocket. What a relief. Oh my. The funny thing is that the prescription was written wrong--it said we needed that amount of medication monthly, when we only need it every two months. I just may let them give me double the amount, to get a supply built up here. Goodness knows I've learned enough over the past year and a half to take whatever I can get because sooner or later the supply chain will become a victim of bureaucratic ineptitude, leaving us high and dry without the things we need.

And, even better news, the New York Times crossword has come back to the paper! We had no paper on Monday because of Labor Day, so the Tuesday paper had the crossword from Monday in, and also the puzzle from Tuesday. The puzzles come with the answer from the day before. The Monday puzzle came with answers from a puzzle that was obviously a Saturday puzzle. I will go on the assumption that the Saturday puzzle was missing from our Sunday paper on a one-time oversight. Today is Thursday, so the puzzle should be fun to do. I haven't fully gained my equilibrium yet since Sunday's world-rocking paper cut, but doing the crossword today should give me that last little bit of help needed to regain complete stability.

KidThree went to group on her own yesterday while I used the hour to go to the jail and put a deposit down on the books for a cousin of hers. That is the first time I've ever done anything like that. (Parenting KidThree is such a horizon-broadening experience.) The deputy at the front desk was as nice and helpful as could be, since it was obvious that I didn't have a clue about what I was there to do.

Last night Sarah Palin made her speech to the Republican National Convention and I was able to watch the whole thing. It was interesting. I don't think I like this woman--too dogmatic, too far to the right in her religion, and too condescending to those she disagrees with. On a political level, though, she seemed to do a good job. Those she was talking to appeared to hang on her every word, and their cheers and standing ovations looked genuinely felt, not prompted.

On a personal level, though, I like the difficult decisions she has made for her family. She knew her last baby would be born with Down Syndrome and she chose to continue the pregnancy--that would have been my choice, too. And she is standing by her pregnant daughter, expressing love and support and emphasizing the personal, non-political nature of the issue. She's right. It is none of our business. (Although I do wonder about what would happen if she [Palin] were to become pregnant again.)

Politically, though, uh uh. She belongs to a church whose pastor said that Jews are victims of terrorism because they don't accept Christ as savior, she believes our involvement in Iraq is in fulfillment of God's wishes, and her pastor said that Alaska is a land given by God to be a refuge for people from the lower forty-eight 'in the end days.' Lordie, lordie, lordie. Please spare this poor battered country from another administration that believes it is acting in accordance with the wishes of the Divine.

Palin's lack of experience also bothers me, but that is something the Republicans could address by putting out her opinions on different issues. One point a Republican talking head put out was that Palin had foreign policy experience because Alaska was next to Russia. Ha. By that logic, I'm a fisherman because my home state was next to the Pacific, and of course I must be a nuclear weapons engineer because I grew up within five miles of The Lab. What I really disliked, though, was her condescension and contempt last night when speaking of her opponents. She's trying to win over some who might go that direction by being that divisive?

It seems to me that the Republicans, at least these days, are arguing apples and oranges. The lack of logic and connections in their arguments grates on me. Not just grates, but puts vinegar on the grated areas. How can people not see the lack of coherence in their arguments? The best example of this was when Palin talked about Obama and Biden claiming to fight for Americans, but that McCain was the only candidate who had actually fought for Americans. The two issues are not the same. Yes, McCain served in the military, and served far and away above and beyond the call of duty, but the actions of the scores of Senators and Representatives affect the real lives of Americans much more than the actions of the hundreds of thousands of military personnel. The two issues are not the same at all. There were so many examples of that sort of thing last night and I expect there will be more tonight. I try to watch both parties' presentations as objectively as I can, but it still seems to me that the Republicans use bad logic and contempt for opponents quite a bit more than the Democrats.

KidTwo left me a voicemail message Tuesday to say she had arrived safely at her grandparents' home. My girls are very well trained--call Mama the minute you are safely there, so she can relax. The funny thing about that was that last night I got a telemarketer call in Spanish. After listening to the message twice, I had Angela listen to make sure I was understanding it right (my Spanish is not fluent), but Angela confirmed that it really was a call offering me a gift in return for something or other. Uh oh. I don't want to be getting calls like that and hope it doesn't happen again. I am thinking the call originated here in the states, as the caller had a distinct Mexican accent and Mexico is not where KidTwo is. Blasted telemarketers. Bad enough in English; I shouldn't have to deal with them in Spanish. In English, I know right away that it is a telemarketer, but in Spanish, I have to try to figure out if the caller could be trying to tell me something about my lovely and peripatetic KidTwo.

And now off to face the day. The laundry awaits. (The laundry ALWAYS awaits.)

A