Playing defense-- weather, house work, and health care

Today, I was supposed to take my quiz bowl team to a tournament. We are not going. Half of the team couldn't make it, and the weather has been an ongoing challenge. Add to that the ever-present rise in things like covid and flu, and yeah... not happening. I hate to disappoint kids, but it was like pushing string, trying to make this happen. So, it's not. Heaven forbid if I got sick or went off the road or some damned thing-- I'm needed, and sometimes, things have to shift.

Life has those moments, doesn't it? When you have to cut something that you would like to do, in order to preserve some sort of sanity, balance, or to heed practical considerations? Instead, today I will engage in various forms of huswifery: baking bread, getting groceries, cleaning the fridge  (probably should do that first), etc. I want to get my literal house in order. I need to; my family needs me to clear some time in my days to be available to help out.

Tomorrow, I will read at church, grade papers, and then we are Holly-watching for a couple of days so Meg and Tim can go back to Boston for his scheduled check-up. We are trying to create a "regular" routine, and it's not that easy. So many variables, and not enough reliable parts. It's like permanently playing defense. Yes, defense wins games, but as a protracted state of being, it's exhausting. 

I think it may be helpful to coordinate our calendars, on a weekly basis. But even then, when Home Health-related services are not able/willing to come at a regular time/day (yes, they have staffing issues, I'm sure), then how do you plan a week, let alone a day? ugh. G and I are here to help Meg and Tim sort this out, but it's evident that there's a need for consistency that is not being met, and it's not any of us that is the problem. 

Ancillary medical programs are hard to work with, especially in rural areas. There are huge gaps in what needs to be done versus what is being done. When the scheduled person does not show up, it's a problem. When they tell you 5pm, and then come at 10am, that's a problem. It's untenable, but yet, it's what we, in rural America, are dealing with. Every time I see an advertisement for visiting nurses or home care assistance I yawp. I literally bark out in disbelief. We already went through this with my father's end of his days at home, and here we go again. There is just little to no help available, regardless of what the ads say, what the promises made look like. It's incredibly fortunate that Meg is a nurse; who knows what would happen if she was not able to do the home care that is needed? Once a week visits don't do the job. The PT/OT visits are useful, if unpredictable, but anything else is just "on paper"--the reality is worse than disappointing. 

Add to all this uncertainty a very busy toddler, bad weather, and so on-- it's a lot. (Understatement implied.)

So, I'm home today. We are a team, and we will win this game. It's just harder than it should be.

Keep praying, folks.

C