Mulching, Mama’s surgery, Master’s Club Program

With the large number of trees we have on our property, every Fall is a challenge for us. In an unusual weather event that happened while we were in Honduras, all the leaves on all the trees were on the ground when we got home. The process usually takes several weeks during which time I grow frustrated trying to keep the leaves out of the garage. This year it happened in one day. Right now, the leaves are piled against north side of our fences on the east and west sides of the house. They look like snow drifts – only made out of leaves. If the leaves are not mulched, the shifting winds eventually blow them into areas where Mama and I do not want them; the front porch, the sidewalks, the garage. I have been hesitant to have Mama mulch those piles of leaves because of the dust and dirt it stirs up – both of which cause Mama and I some respiratory issues. Now has not seemed to be the right time to risk getting a cough from an exercise that is largely cosmetic. Besides, Sam and Sasha often make their beds in those piles when the weather is cold enough that they feel the need some insulation around them.

Mama called our insurance provider yesterday to see if there was anything that could be done to help get her surgery approved. The person she talked to was very kind and very helpful; however, it is up to the doctor’s office to make the calls and put in the request to have her case expedited. There is a path provided by the insurance provider to allow the case to be reviewed and reconsidered in an expedited manner if the doctor’s office requests it to be done. Mama was told to have the doctor’s office let the insurance company know that Thursday is the last available surgery date of this year. That is where things stood at lunchtime when I checked in with Mama. Sometime around 3 pm, the hospital called to let Mama know that she needed to be at the hospital at 12 pm on Thursday. The caveat is that at that time we still had not heard from the Doctor’s office to confirm approval from the insurance provider. She had been calling every hour to see if someone would pick up the phone and talk to her – to no avail. It was not until Mama and I were getting ready for church that she checked her phone and saw a missed call from the doctor’s office. The voicemail was pretty much what we expected. They cancelled her surgery for today because they “had not heard back from the insurance provider.” Whether they made any additional attempts to contact the insurance provider is not known to us, but the next time Mama needs surgery – for her right knee – we will be using another doctor. Our loyalty and patience only extend so far. Overall, we are disappointed that Mama is stuck with the limited range of motion she now has, but she is able to do most things. So, we take the bad with the good and move forward. God is still in control.

Mama and I had to be at church with the girls at 5:30 yesterday evening. The Master’s Club Christmas Program was to be presented in church that night and they needed a final practice. After Mama and I dropped off Yilin and Cheyenne for the practice and made sure we were not needed, we took Aubrey and headed to Walmart. I needed a couple food items for a pot luck at work today and Mama needed a couple items for things she is fixing for this weekend. While we were in Walmart, Aubrey threw up. The splatter of which got on both of us as well as in her. She was sitting in the shopping cart and daintily leaned forward and let it all go. The boots we were wearing got a little of the fallout but all in all it was an easy cleanup. We just had to find someone to get the mess off the floor at Walmart. We checked out and took her home. It did not appear that she was sick. After the event, she let us know she felt better, but we did not want to run the risk of a repeat occurrence at church – or in our vehicle.

The children’s play went really well. Both the play portion and the musical portion were well rehearsed and nicely presented – in that customary fashion that only children can pull off. Mama recorded it in full so Alex and his wife could see the entire program. By the time the last song was sung, the kids were weary of their costumes, but they soldiered through to the end.

We had the girls home just after 8 pm.