Yes, there was a note of sarcasm in that title selection, but HONESTLY!! I can't remember when weather so mild and terrific has been so welcomed by all of us. During the temperatures of 115 this summer I promised that if we ever saw rain again, I would not complain. And for the people that know me, that is huge.
This weekend has been pretty quiet. The Razorbacks had a huge win over Texas A&M after looking like junior high players in the first half. I can only imagine what they were told in the locker room that would bring them out to play like they did. Steve and I enjoyed the 11:00 game here at home. We made popcorn chicken and chicken wings and cheered from the couch. Of course, Steve had totally given up (as he often does on the Hogs as well as the Cardinals) when they are playing bad. He said several times, "well, there goes the game." I tease him about it intensely and at times like yesterday, was able to have the last laugh.
I've made my way through about half of my private practice files to make notes and file insurance and even BILL those that didn't pay their copay like they said they would.
I hate being a bill collector. I don't like people who do that for a living, although I imagine it takes a very special type of personality to call on folks that have forgotten or gotten in a real financial bind, or even had emergencies and couldn't pay their bills. Often they seem to be the rudest on the planet. So I really hate being placed in that position. Most pay their copays at the time of service, but often the insurance company is difficult to reach and find out exactly what that amount will be. I always file the claims for them, so asking that they pay their copay should be okay with them. ANYWAY…I have several invoices going out tomorrow….we will see what they turn up.
On a BRIGHTER NOTE….Steve and I started talking about plans for Christmas this year. Rachel and Chris are planning to come for several days so we want to do something fun. And, of course, the baby (see photo at right) will add something special to our plans I'm sure! We thought about getting a lakehouse to rent for a night or two, as we did many years ago. The guys could fish or whatever and there could be hiking and fires in the fireplace, cooking, games and lots of fun!! As I turned on the computer to begin searching for the right place, I turned to thinking about our own dream lakehouse that we owned for a year on Beaver Lake. We had rented it out to help pay for it while I(and I mean I) made plans for our retirement there. I had it all planned out in my mind. And, you know what they say about best laid plans. We realized several months into it that if we didn't rent it out then it could sometimes be hard in the off season to meet the expenses of it. What a sad time that was for me to realize that my dream retirement plan was not going to happen.
After many tears, we decided to put it on the market. We had bought it for $383,000 and decided to sell it for $410,000 with the furniture or less without it all. Before we even had a sign in the yard we had a buyer. A neurosurgeon and his family from Houston wanted a little getaway on the lake. They had a plane and had plans to fly back and forth. They even paid cash for it, lock stock and barrel. They even wanted the games we had in the closet!!!!It was tough, but we did it.
And as I shut the door that last time, I closed my eyes on that dream.
But remember the Garth Brooks song about "Sometimes I thank God for Unanswered Prayers"….well this is one of those times. The housing market began to fall apart soon after we sold the lakehouse.
Last night I found on the internet that the value of that very house had declined to $269,000…and $12,000 of that was in the last month!!!!!!!!!!!!
We would have totally lost everything we had if we had kept it!!!!!
Holy Cow!!!!!!!!!
So, tonight as I write this, I have a lot to be thankful for. This weather. My job. My family. My friends. My health. And for unanswered prayers.
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