Two full days after my blood test I finally get a call back with my test results. I don’t think they would have ever notified me if I hadn’t called them. So the person on the phone tells me that my pregnancy test was negative. Double duh. “So my HCG level was zero?” I asked to confirm. “Yes.” I ask if I can now go to the monthly blood tests. “Oh no”, she replies, “You’re all set. You don’t have to have any more blood tests. If it was zero it can’t go any lower!” Now ten years ago I would have thanked her and been thrilled that I was all done with blood tests, hung up the phone and gotten on with my life. Today I know enough (more than her!) to say, “The concern isn’t whether the HCG can get lower, we are concerned that it will get higher. I currently have weekly tests that at some point will become monthly. Could you please consult the doctor and call me back?” She calls back to tell me that yes, I need to continue weekly tests until I have three more negative and then can start the monthly regiment. Then she says, “I thought you had already had the three negative tests.” LIE LIE LIE! You had no friggin idea what the hell you were talking about! I am not allowed to see my chart because I wouldn’t be able to interpret it, but these morons have full access to my information and can’t even relay it to me appropriately! GAWD! Dealing with them is so stressful!

Then later I try talking with the woman from the insurance company who is withholding our payment until she receives documents confirming information (that wasn’t worded properly) in the rider. It was sent to the lawyer for review who sent it back to us rather than to the company. I explained the situation to her and asked if she would please release the payment out of the goodness of her heart (BAHAHAHA!) as it would make a huge difference in my life to receive it in 5 rather than 10 days from now. She went on and on about how Gary had agreed to mail it in twice and never did. I agreed with her and told her that I have personally addressed the envelope and will deliver it to the post office first thing in the morning. She alluded that she had been lied to by Gary and now I was probably doing the same. I agreed that he had said that he would mail them and then forgotten. I asked her to remember that the man had a HEAD INJURY and SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS and that was why they were PAYING HIS BENEFIT TO BEGIN WITH!!!!

After the lawyer had review them he basically told us that they had us “over a barrel” and the rich people “rule the world” and can “screw the little people”. Also, and this is my favorite part, the insurance company doesn’t have to release this, or any other payment. They can stop paying whenever they feel like it, as they did now to basically blackmail him into signing over government money to them, and there isn’t a think we can do about it, other than sue them, which could take years (without pay!). They know that people can’t go more than a few months without pay so unless you completely don’t need their money you will eventually cave and do whatever they want.

Thank goodness I spend TWO HOURS chatting at the Kid Free Moms Only Breakfast* this morning or my stress level would have been through the roof this afternoon. I felt bad that we took up the table for so long. I hope our tips were high enough to make up for our transgression. I left $3 on a $6.37 bill, and I saw that another Mom did the same. That was enough, right?

*Yes, it really is called the Kid Free Moms Only Breakfast because I myself just now named it that.

In addition to all the above we had extra kids here this afternoon and neighbors trying to maneuver their kids in too. I’m not really sure how to deal with this situation because I feel bad for the kids, but we have enough of our own, and our kids don’t really want them to play here. Sometimes they invite the oldest, but does that mean we need to entertain the siblings as well? Last year was a mess! We had kids here 24/7 and usually I fed them. Some days we would wake up to find kids waiting at the gate in bathing suits with towels in hand. A few times it was so overwhelming that we fled! And yet I feel bad for the kids. I would like to have them all here, but there has to be a limit. Where do you draw the line?

The more I write the more disappointed I am with my writing skills. The English course I took last year was great at getting me 3 credits, but I think a new dictionary was the only thing I took away from that class. Ooooo, perhaps I will post a writing sample from said class. Did I already do that? Forgive me if you have read this before.