Monday, August 6, 2018

Cruel Summer

I took George to the vet this morning for the swollen spots that appeared on his legs and chest over the weekend. They think he's had an allergic reaction to something or other, and that it's not too serious. He got two different steroid shots and a 10 day supply of an antibiotic to take care of any infection that may be settling in to the sores that formed on the oldest spots. I was seriously relieved! It was also time for his 6 month heartworm prevention shot, too, and altogether the visit cost almost $200. That's in addition to the $30 allergy shot Ginger got Friday morning. These dogs are breaking the bank!

Actually, it's not just the dogs. I swear we've been hemorrhaging money all summer long, for one minor crisis after another. It's been stressing me out to no end, and as hard as I've tried to not spend any unnecessary money this summer it's not made much difference. We can barely keep up with all the extra expenses and in order to avoid tapping into our savings I've had to watch every dime and postpone paying some bills (like the ridiculous amount of money I still owe the dentist). I hate it.

Last night when Gregg and I sat down and had one of our bi-monthly household financial meetings, we discovered that several of his aquarium clients have been falling behind in paying him for his work, and what's worse, falling behind in reimbursing him for supplies that he bought for them out of his own pocket. In a couple of cases it's just due to the time of year; he has accounts at several schools and typically the bookkeepers are off for the month of July. Usually he will get a couple of bigger checks at the end of August once the financial people are back at work, and that's fine. But in two cases it's sheer carelessness and he intends to have a talk with the financial people at both places. They both owe him 2 or 3 months worth of back pay as well as money for the supplies he's been buying for them. Thank goodness he keeps good records. The delayed money will come in very handy....hopefully soon.

In addition to being stressed out about money, I've been a low mood for other reasons. There's been a lot of family stress and drama this year. It started, of course, with losing my beloved mother in law before Christmas. After that, Gregg had a few health scares over the next several months that turned out to be nothing (thank goodness!) but he's had to have a ton of extra tests and scans to make sure that the cancer hasn't returned. Then my grandma died at the start of the summer. Regular readers here will know that her will left some bad feelings and resentments in the family that are just starting to subside. Then two weeks ago I got the news that a former coworker of mine, a woman in her mid 60s that I worked closely with for years, had died suddenly in her sleep at the end of June. She had had a lot of health problems, but it still shook me to find out that she had died like that, too young. And THEN, on top of everything else, I found out the other day that my mom's sister, my aunt Shirley, has had a terrible accident. She was at home alone (and suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis and slight dementia) and she fell. When she fell, a large television fell on top of her, breaking her leg and pinning her to the floor. She laid there for 5 hours before her husband got home from work and found her, and the circulation had been cut off from her leg for so long that they ended up having to amputate it. Isn't that just awful? I wasn't close to this aunt; in fact, I'm certain I haven't seen or spoken to her in at least 20 years. She and her husband were not kind to my grandparents, which is why there was a rift between her and my mom (and why I didn't care that she dropped out of my life long ago) but I still feel terrible for what she's going through.

Every where I turn right now, it seems there's death and dying and illness and injury. Or the threat of those things. Are the planets aligned oddly this summer or something? And come to think of it, why is everyone so angry all the time? Gregg had a large woman threaten to "knock you on your ass!" yesterday for asking her child to stop banging on the glass of a fish tank! And I can't even talk about the political situation these days, it makes me feel even more hopeless. Talk about ugliness! And the awful heat outside is just the icing on the cake.

I hate to say it, but I'll be glad to see the end of this summer. As hard as I've tried to be happy and grateful for all the time off, I just haven't been able to enjoy this one. I'm going to work two days this week (Wednesday and Thursday, registration days) and then next Monday is my first official day back. I can't wait. This summer was a bust.


26 comments:

  1. Here (((Jennifer))). I know it's not much, but it's from the heart.

    ReplyDelete
  2. {{{{{hugs}}}}} this summer has sucked major ass! :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. And you were so looking forward to this break!
    Damn.
    Those customers need to pay up! No reason y'all should do without because someone else isn't paying for services rendered.
    And that is just horrible about the TV landing on your aunt's leg. What a terrible accident. She must have been in such pain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm a little disappointed with the break, but I know how lucky I am in all regards--including the fact that I don't mind going back to work.

      Gregg had a talk with the bookkeeper of the worst offender yesterday, and the issue should be resolved this week.

      As to my aunt...yes, it's a terrible thing to think about.

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Oh, Joanne! I hope you're doing better and recovering from your fall!

      Delete
  5. So Sorry to read this but I am sure you will pull through.
    Just in case here is a Big Hug and Yea Haw from Tucson

    cheers, parsnip and badger

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm hoping for the bad luck to be over.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! Or at least, the deaths and accidents. No one else in my sphere is allowed to die!

      Delete
  7. Poor you; sounds awful. No deaths or disasters here, but boy has it been expensive recently. Everything seems to have broken down, or just plain broken. My fingers are crossed that it's over. I like the Bananas; haven't heard that one for years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you get some relief, Cro! The same thing has been happening to me, we had two major appliances break in less than a week.

      I like that song, too!

      Delete
  8. Possibly you have had too much time to think. That can be one of the downsides of long holidays or too much time alone. You began your long holiday feeling so delighted and I am a little sad that you now cannot wait till it's over. As you may recall I recently won $10 million on The National Lottery but I am sure that you are too proud and independent to ask for a donation to The Bank of Barlow. I admire your fortitude.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Neil. I confess to being a little disappointed with how the summer unfolded, but there will be other summers. (Hopefully)

      I think you're right about the time alone thing. It does indeed leave too much time for thinking about things, especially right now when so there has been so much bad luck and sadness. I'll feel better when I'm surrounded by work day cares (and people) again. And next summer will hopefully be much better!

      Delete
    2. Yes. Next summer you will know what to expect. Is there a suitable summer camp nearby where you could get a job? Perhaps a camp that caters for deprived children?

      Delete
    3. That's a great idea, Neil. It's actually something I thought of myself. I will have to see how my Guardian ad Litem duties look like by then. I took on extra cases this summer, but next year I may devote more time to a paying job if I'm going to work at all. :)

      Delete
  9. Dear Jennifer, here is another virtual hug for you - with the advantage of it being completely sweat-free!
    Just yesterday, as I was walking to work, I thought of how happy I can be (and am) about my life right now: The eye operation went so well, the operation I had two weeks ago (cervix, long story) went well, too; work is still going strong, my relationship with O.K. is wonderful; my parents have their health issues but are generally doing fine; it is summer - and in 3 weeks' time, I'll be on holiday.
    I wish I could send some of The Good that keeps happening to me over to you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meike, I'm so happy for you and your good fortune!

      Better days will come around for me again. These things seem to run in cycles, plus I never forget how fortunate I am in many ways.

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your summer days have been quite demanding on several fronts.
    One of the difficult challenges, when running your own business is managing the debtors, those people who owe you money. It's a fine balancing act between getting what is owed to you & maintaining a good business relationship with your customers.
    From my working life experience the main thing is not to let a debt get out of hand, not as easy as it sounds.
    All your concerns will not have been helped by the extreme summer weather.
    Well, no magic wand here; hang in there Jennifer, things should look up when school resumes
    Best of luck
    Alphie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Regarding the running your own business thing...I have to keep an eye on my husband. He does so much free extra work for his clients that it makes me mad when they neglect to pay him for promptly when they're supposed to! Any time there's an issue with an aquarium, he will rush right over and take care of it, and never charges them extra for extra work. He also hates to raise his rates, which means there are tanks he's serviced for years now without even a small increase in what they pay. I hope they appreciate him!

      Thanks for your comment!

      Delete
  12. The world just keeps getting crazier everyday. I try not to go out anymore because of it. I think a lot of people are in a state of some sort of low grade trauma.
    Sending you a hug though. You are not alone. xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right. There seems to be anger and hurt and trauma all over the place right now.

      Thank you for the support!

      Delete