Upcoming appointments updated

So the appointments that I listed before are over. And a new round are just begining. :(

The car appointment led to the finding of a major problem. The left front axel was almost broken. Which in turn lead to the left front bearing being worn down. (which this car has already had replaced twice in the last 3 years that I know of) So the estimate the dealership gave me was...scary! But a local shop that Pat takes his van to gave me one that was 50% lower than the dealer. :) So back to the shop my car goes on Thursday. Hopefully this time will be a bit better.

The doctor appointment was....good and nerve-racking. I liked the Doctor. He seems very concerned about any issues you have, listens well, asks questions when he needs more information and is willing to let you take your time and explain anything you want to talk about. But, in the course of the discussion, I mentioned that I've had my lower legs swelling (filling with fluid) for several years now. Some days are worse than others, but it's always there to some extent. My last doctor just kind of assumed it was my weight and left it alone. The doctor here...told me in some detail just what could be causing it. :( Anything from my weight....to congestive heart failure. So I'm going in for blood work (it's a walk in lab--just go in anytime from now til two days before my next appointment. And a chest x-ray. I have to make an appointment for that, but again, can do it as I want. Then back to the doctor for an actual physical and to get results from the test. It was kind of scary and kind of refreshing to hear that the small concerns I had weren't being just attributed to weight and age, but being seriously thought about and followed up on.

Sunday Morning Mass

I went to Mass at my new church last Sunday morning. I really do feel so at home there. Even more so than I ever felt in MN. And I liked my church in MN. But there is a....flavour (to use the Canadian spelling ;) ) to this Catholic church which is unlike anything I've seen. In part I think it's almost a Evangelical/Pentecostal feel. I had some really odd thoughts at Mass on Sunday.



The first one was....How is a Catholic Mass like a musical?



Well...People move in unison (Stand/Sit/Kneel) and process around the church with little to no direction (kind of like a slow dance bit), and burst into song without warning. :) Where else but a musical (or the Mass) does this happen?

The second odd thought I had was my church is even more multicultural than my church in MN. Which is a bit odd as my church in MN wasn't exactly all white. But here...we have a couple of families from Africa, a few from the Phillipeans, some from Europe, and now...me from the States. Which is fun...as people will look at me for a few minutes then say "You're not from around here, eh?" And I'm not. I still say "Amen" with a long A, instead of Ahmen. ;)

Upcoming appointments

And WOW!!!! There are a lot!

I have a work meeting next week. I'll get to meet all the house supervisors hired so far (eventually there are supposed to be 16 of us--4 at each house X 4 houses and about 10-12 people able to do on-call as needed so we can have vacations/sick days etc.) And all these people have been invited to the meeting. But at the moment we only have 12 full timers hired and 6 on-call folks.

Later in the week, I take my car in to have additional child safety seat anchors put in as well as daytime running lamps. The child safety seat anchors are free! The daytime running lamps are $250. But then I can have my car inspected and licensed here in Canada. So that will mean one more thing off my long to do list. :)

Pat is going out of town to visit a friend he hasn't seen in about 10 years. They've tried to get together a few times, and life always got in the way....but his friend was diagnosed with cancer this past year and although he is in remission and should be fine, the overdue visit was bumped to must do NOW priority. So I'm helping out by opening the storage area for one of Pat's employees on Friday and again Saturday to get equipment for a gig.

Then finally to round out my month, I'm going to the doctor. No, nothing is specifically wrong that hasn't bothered me for a long time. But I need to find a doctor here in Canada and since I haven't had a full physical in about 2 years....I guess it's time. It's a bit strange here. Dr's offices overall don't do blood work. A few of the larger clinics do, but not the one Dr offices which are common. So I'll go in, talk to the Dr, we'll decide on any tests needed, then another morning, I'll go into a walk in lab to have the blood work done.

I must admit though, I think it will be interesting to see what another Dr says about some of the things I've been dealing with. I'm trying write some of them down on a list, because I'm sure I'll think it's not that important at my appointment if I don't. For example....my lower legs (calves) have been swollen for almost 5 years now. It was one of the reasons I suspected I had hypothyroidism at that time (but didn't test positive for it) Never did find a reason and never have done anything to fix it. My calves are just filled with fluid all the time. Some days are worse than others, and on those days, wearing socks actually hurts. So I'm guessing there maybe some things that a new set of eyes will see differently than my old doctor in MN.

Given my general....dislike (ok...ok...I'll admit it--it's HATRED) of doctors, this is the appointment I'm kind of dreading the most. But Pat assures me that his doctor is very good, a good listener and does amazing diagnostic work. So I'll go and see. I just never know how much of my past history I should try to explain. :( I think I'll try to talk to Pat about it before I go. I'm sure he'll say give all information possible, but sometimes I think...doctors will think I'm a bit crazy if I do that. I've just had so many odd things go wrong with me. Nothing big, but just...odd. ;) Like Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome instead of the normal Carpal variety. Or bolus impetigo instead of the regular variety. Just odd stuff. So I tend to not give as full a history as I probably should.

Anyway...if any of you readers have any ideas of things you know I should be talking to a Dr about....feel free to let me know. I'll add it to the list. ;)

It's the little stuff :)

I know.....I know. The book title is "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff." But I'm find more and more each day that it is the small stuff that is truly what makes life good. Some examples:

1. Arriving home from my first overnight shift to Pat saying "Good, you're home. I have some errands to run, but I couldn't leave until I knew you were home safe."
2. Being able to sit back, relax and watch someone else make dinner.
3. Being told "Don't let anything but fear and good judgement stop you" when I seem hesitent about making a decision.
4. Coming home from work and having a clean house, without having to do anything to make it so.
5. Making a small request to Pat that he find out if his doctor is accepting new patients now that I have health benefits here in Canada. And coming home to not only having this done, but having the appointment made and written on my calender on the fridge.

Small things. Nothing big, nothing earth shattering, but so wonderful for my feelings of well being. And in an odd way...my ego. While I've heard others say I'm important in their lives, Pat shows it in small ways. And that makes me feel...loved.

More Canadian Stuff

I've been working what will now be kind of a normal schedule for me and that means that every other week is....LONG!!!! I work an odd rotation of shifts. Two weeks of days, two weeks of overnights. One week (Sunday to Saturday) of 4 days , the next of 3. Twelve hour shifts. Last week was my 4 day week. I'm reading this and thinking...WOW that is confusing. So let me see if I can unconfuse. :)

Week one: Work Days (7:30am-7:30pm) on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday

Week two: Work Days on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday

Week three: Work Nights (7:30pm-7:30am) on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday

Week four: Work Nights on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday

Then back to week 1 I go. I'm currently on Monday of week 2. Although I may be doing a really weird thing next month and skipping week one....we'll see.

But anyway...this schedule is nice for a couple of reasons....one big one is the things I have to do to be here in Canada! Like getting a driver's license, insurance, title for the car, all those pesky things. And speaking of cars....moving with one to another country is a bit of a hassle. I have to have a couple of modifications (one the car company provides free! The other costs $250. So not too bad!) There will also be a few modifications I'll need before next winter (like a block heater) because everywhere (and I do mean everywhere!) here has places to plug your car in!

So last week I got the paperwork I needed for some of this....and found I need driving records from my last two states of residence. Basically for every year since 1995 that I've gone without an accident or moving violation....I get 2% off the basic insurance rate (up to 20%) Hmmmm....one accident in that time....no tickets.....So hopefully...I'll get a really good rating! :)

Independence/dependence/connection

Ok...I admit it...that was a bit of an odd title. :)

But I've been having a bit of a problem and if you are reading this and have some opinion...I'd like to hear it.

The problem in a nutshell is....How do you as an adult starting over show/feel your independence from your family, while maintaining some connection, but not allowing yourself to become dependent on them or them to be dependent on you?

I saw on TV an ad for that show that does interventions with people dealing with addictions and it was brought up that maybe the mother who emails/calls/visits her daughter daily....maybe a bit addicted to her family. And that the crying/over the top guilt/franticness of the relationship maybe contributing to her daughter's problems. And I can see that. As I have a mom who is doing much the same.

I know I haven't kept in as close a contact as she would like....but then...don't I get a say in how close we are? So anyway...any advice...would be nice. :)