I am very grumpy today. I was very grumpy yesterday. Jake and I were not looking forward to Thanksgiving very much because we knew what would happen…the girls would not even be mentioned, acknowledged, anything. And that is exactly what happened. It was a pretty awkward situation so Jake and I just kind of kept to ourselves, even when the topic of universal healthcare came up. I appreciate and understand everybody’s opinions on universal healthcare, but there are a few problems with bringing it up at a family function:
- Don’t bring it up at Thanksgiving. It’s a sensitive topic and there are too many people with too differing opinions and it just makes for bad conversation.
- Don’t bring it up around your son and daughter-in-law because you have no idea. You have had insurance steadily for the past humpteen years. We were so incredibly lucky to have insurance when the girls were sick. In the one month that they were ill, we racked up over $60,000 in medical bills. Thankfully, we’ve only had to pay a fraction of that, but if we hadn’t had insurance at that time, we would not be surviving.
- Don’t bring it up around people that you know are losing their insurance in a few short months. The idea of us not having insurance scares the crap out of us and we have told you how upset we are about it, but thank you for being selfish and only thinking of yourself and how universal healthcare will raise your taxes and bankrupt the country. Thank you so much.
- Don’t bring it up to people that are about to lose their insurance even if they have pre-existing conditions. If there is even a 10 minute lapse in coverage, our pre-existing conditions will not be covered for at least a year, if not longer, so if my eyeball explodes at Thanksgiving next year and lands in your mashed potatoes, please don’t be mad…it’s what you wanted.
Sorry to go off on such a tangent, but seriously, some conversations are better left for other venues.
I do want to thank Sean and Elly for being awesome cousins and talking to us and making us feel welcome. You were a ray of light on an otherwise very dark day.
I read this entire post shaking my head. So true, each and every point. I think talking politics at any family function ESPECIALLY holiday is A HUGE NO NO!!!
I just wanted to say that I saw a picture of your girls and they were so beautiful that I just had to take a peek at your blog. As a mother, my heart goes out to you and you will forever be in my thoughts.
I am Canadian and though we do have problems withthe healthcare system, I feel very priviledged that we have this system in place. And though it is true that some things are not always perfect and much could be done to improve the system, I see all the good that it does do as my husband is a physician. I wish all the Americans the same peace of mind.