Bills

The new year started off with bills. I open the mail each day and more bills role in. We were so good at Christmas, but still ended up with credit card charges. Our house and auto insurance started over for the new year. Our regular utilities came rolling in on schedule. A couple of medical expenses from December from Tom and Trevor caught up with us.

For the next two months I will be playing catch up and being good. Tom hasn't golfed enough in the last year to have a handicap, so he wont be able to participate in our annual winter golf trip to Gerhardt, at the coast. Besides, right around that time we will be seeing how Riley's system is reacting to no more immuno suppressants.

It was just that time last year that we began this long journey. I had sent Tom off to golf because he dwells so badly on the negatives and what ifs, that I needed to get him out of town for a few days, while we were in the thick of hospital living and treatments. He came back refreshed and ready for what ever we had to do next, which turned out to be waiting and waiting and more waiting.

Over this whole year, we have had to wait. Patience has never been Tom's or my strong point. These last few weeks for me have been a little more difficult as we approach the anniversary of February 10, when we landed in the hospital for the first time.

The original appointment was scheduled for February 17, but the Doctor will be unavailable that day. Thursdays are his clinic day, but that is a long holiday weekend. He is probably doing something fun with his family. The hospital wanted to push our appointment out to the 24Th. I called back and said lets do the tenth. I wanted to get it done as soon as possible. I know Tom would concur. He didn't like waiting another two months when we were in for our visit in November.

Riley has been sick this week with a cold. No fever, just a constant runny nose and a persistent cough. The key is no fever. As long as Riley doesn't spike a temperature, even a mild one, there is no cause for alarm. Treat the symptoms was what we were told. Try not to give him anything that might mask a temperature.

I have been giving him Benedryl to help dry out his sinuses and keep his nose clear. He takes it in the evening. Benedryl makes him sleepy so I don't like giving it to him before school. It really helps him sleep. No post nasal drip to make him cough. He sleeps soundly through the night.

Riley missed school Monday, but his math teacher called in the evening, offering to have him come in early before school on Tuesday to catch up on his missed work. I thought it was so generous that the teacher took the time to call. He left a long message regarding school work. I wanted to make the effort on our part to get Riley to school. Since he was accommodating Riley, I wanted to reciprocate and show we appreciated the effort. Riley could always come home later if he felt the need, but he made it through the day. After that I figured we would just push through the cold and the rest of the week. It is a long weekend coming up. He could sleep and rest at that point.

If I let Riley miss school every time he has a cold, he would probably miss a third the year, not an option. The school year is already short enough. I am loving the extra long weekends the children are getting. I think they could have spread them around even more. Four day school weeks are great. The boys get rest but not too much down time.

We start over on our deductible for medical insurance. Another $5000 minimum this year for Riley. The rest of us cost under $1000 each by the end of the year with our usual visits for the common place illness. I didn't even have any prescriptions filled last year for myself. I was completely healthy all year.

Well, I did put off some medical things. I someday need to have my ACL fixed in my knee. The knee has an "x" of tendons and ligaments in the back that keep it stable. They work as rubberbands pulling the knee back into place. One of mine snapped and is missing, giving me an unstable knee. I am thinking I may just live without it. I am getting too old to be skiing and Tom wont ski with us.

Trevor loves skiing so I will still drive him up to the mountain. I might take him on Monday as it is a school holiday for him. I kind of think both my knees are shot. I get funny kinks in them upon occasion. I want to strengthen them, which was one reason I bought the boys the resistance trainer. It has a great knee lift I could use. I just have to motivate.

I am also approaching the age of the colonoscopy. With our family history, my doctor recommends that I do it earlier rather than wait until 50. I had an appointment scheduled, but I canceled it. I can wait.

Meanwhile, I have to start paying the medical co pays again as another year starts. I looked into joining the local golf club, but I realize now, Tom had already pointed it out, that we need to get Riley well. The $5000 deductible is the money I would otherwise use to spend on the club.

We have also been talking about the new Cadillac CTS-V. It is a beauty. Again it is something we need to put on hold. The medical deductibles each year are what we would us on fun frivolous stuff. I think of all the unemployed people in America and how lucky we are to be able to even think about frivolous purchases; club memberships or new cars. We would love to do our part to consume and push our economy forward. We will just need to wait a little longer. It is fun to dream about what we will do when all of this medical stuff is over.

I did tell Tom I wanted him to pick five stocks. I would pick five stocks. We would then compare our choices and purchase those stocks for the year. Having sat on the side line of 2009 except for a few stocks, I think it is time to dabble again. We wont do a whole lot, but five diversified stocks is a good well balanced plan. Tom wants to wait until the froth of January passes and pick up the stocks in February. That gives us a few weeks to pick our selections, come up with our reasons for these in particular. I kind of like the under performers with a lot of cash on their balance sheets. Retail, booze, construction or manufacturing, high tech, mining, I am trying to pick my sectors.

I told the boys they could play also if they wanted. Perhaps not with real money, but I could offer a prize of money to the best performing fake portfolio at the end of the year. I could set up a watch list for each boy. They might even direct me toward a company I might otherwise overlook.

Anyway I need to get back to bill paying and really picking my 5 stocks. I have always liked ATand T. I already have it in my portfolio. Ideas are welcome.