We are having a bit of ice for Valentine's day but not enough to bother much with, thankfully. Just in case I snagged some de-icer at the gas station. Lorna suggested vinegar and water which I shall also mix up. Should have done that a few weeks ago when we had two events in one week! Hey...I was focused on getting to work and Mama. That ice was hard to deal with but the snow? A piece of cake. I don't like it at all unless I'm in for the weekend and have supplies which NEVER happens.
The Lenten journey is one of soul searching and reverence for those who choose to observe. Fasting and praying and ashing have been done and now the road begins to the ministry of our Lord and his death and resurrection. Pentecost is probably my favorite because of all the folks getting tongues of fire for the Holy Spirit. I reflect a lot about what it means to be a spiritual person because I have a deep and abiding respect for each individual's personal journey. I am a Christian. That being said, there are other beliefs out there and as long as they're not forced on me, I'm secure. I am not persecuted for being a Christian, in spite of the radical right. Other religions are, however. Choke on that Bundy bunch and I hope you have lots of visitors in jail. I know better than to mess with the feds. They are Big Brother and Sister all rolled into one and if you do something dumbass like a takeover of federal land and expect to be treated with patience, well. The FBI gave y'all a month which was way too long. Oh, and the guy was reaching for a gun.
So we have a dead SCOTUS justice and everybody's all wondering what's going to happen. I'd say considering the political clout of the Republican party at this point, our POTUS should put some names out there pretty damn quick. Who cares if they fight it later? Hell they try to repeal every freakin' thing. Congress will look different in November. Hide and watch. There is an excitement among voters that I've never witnessed before and I do believe that it's a coming to to the center. Too many people have died because of easy access to firearms. People die alone and suffering in hospitals and nursing homes. I am not a pork barrel politician, and I could write a proposal for a single payer system in about an hour. When you cut out the "middle men" like pharm/insurance/etc care is so much more simplistic. These two entities have O's who make million dollar bonuses just like with TVA and the power mongers.
Which brings me to hospice. I'm not really sure what got me going on that back in the 90's but I pulled charts and tallied admission diagnoses and found that there were a top 10 and usually they had more than one. My interest at the time was in offering an alternative to traditional medical care which is focused on treatment. Preventive care, especially for children and the elderly, should be a priority. Our school systems routinely serve unhealthy meals because of contracted services. The government funded programs like Head Start pay minimum wage. Something ain't right here.
Palliative care is, by definition, comfort. The hospice philosophy centers on a dying patient to maximize the quality of life left. If your doctor expects you to live less than six months, there is a CMS benefit for the care. The catch is that you must agree not to do aggressive treatment from that point on which is something that scares the hell out of folks. If had a terminal illness and was told by a physician that I trusted that there was six months left, I'd be signing up. Medicine can't cure it all, in spite of Big Pharm tells you. My parents both died as DNRs and it still took six weeks of hell for each of them to get where they were going. That blows my mind and makes me tired. I miss my parents, though not a lot yet. I still keep expecting one of them to call me with an errand or just to chat. One of the most important rituals Daddy had was fresh bananas for his cereal and it was a major deal when he ran out. Little things like that, you know?
They are in heaven together dancing and not in pain, loving each other like they always did. I feel them smiling on me because I know for a fact how proud they are of who I am. I may not be perfect, but I'm a solid mixture of the two of them and for that I'm grateful.
Happy Anniversary ~
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