We voted today! (Well, we dropped off our ballots yesterday.) Vince is voting in California – hopefully his ballot dropped off today in at a voting center on campus. Vince got to vote on abortion rights, electric vehicle initiatives, music lessons for kiddos. We got to vote on marijuana. And, of course, a bunch of our elected officials. I recently learned my parents do not vote in the mid-terms which was interesting to me because their local elections where they live in Washington state is/was hotly contested and their local votes would have counted for a lot. I actually dislike marching in Washington DC, or posting my views on social media – but I like voting. Not everyone gets to vote, so I consider it a privilege. Now, I do have issues with various vote things – I wish the electoral college was better and I hate the gerrymandering and I also wish for ranked choice voting, but it’s what I got right now.
I feel like life should be getting easier to manage, but I feel like the opposite is happening. I manage to cross something off my to-do list, but then at least two other things crop up. Like yesterday, I sent off my at-home-colonoscopy poop in a box (I’m grateful I don’t have to do the full prep), I voted, I went to a pre-check background check appointment with Edda to save us the time at security at the airport because the last time we travelled with Edda, the security added about 15 minutes to the travel time and I got anxious about making the plane and she needed practically a full body check in/out of the wheelchair arm braces on/off shoes on/off. At the pre-check appt, I realized I needed to get my passport renewed (the kind person doing the fingerprinting mentioned it) and then I just got an email from work saying that they are managing all the retirement accounts differently and I’m going to have to take some time to look at that. The rules are changing faster than I can keep track of. It’s overwhelming to me. Sometimes I think, I’m so competent, like really, really competent. Like if you had a scale of competency, I would rank in the top 10% most likely. I think I’m really good at paperwork and I’m struggling with it all and we (at least the adults) have no incredible health issues and I can’t keep up with all the appointments and paperwork that need to get done all the time. I constantly can’t log into websites because I got a new computer or browser or because I don’t quite understand the incredibly sophisticated password manager that I had to finally start using and pay an annual fee for because every website demands an intricate password that is not copied on any other website and because I need to create a login for everything I want to do! I can’t imagine if you are not good with the language or have some real health issues or are living paycheck to paycheck where every $20 matters a lot or are just, honestly, not as good at managing the paperwork as I am (this is the lamest skill ever, this should not be a skill. Playing the violin or grooming long haired dogs or making delicious cupcakes should be more highly celebrated) or are actually working a lot not at home or not without a ton of flex in your schedule. I used to think that the paperwork at the hospital was crazy, but somehow, it’s spilled over into my own life. A big factor of the dislike of my hospital job is the paperwork. I’m always behind, I am always unsure what needs to be filled out. Even before I see the patient, there are 50 things for each patient that needs to be filled out each shift including depression/suicide screening and whether they are right handed or left handed. Really? Do I need to know that for someone who got their gallbladder removed? I got mad at Jeremy yesterday because he said it was “no big deal”, but it can be invisible to him, all the background stuff I do. He did apologize, lol. I’m wading through all the paperwork for one of Edda’s potential aftercare program – seriously at least 15 forms, 5 of which need doctor signatures. All of them out of date with none of them asking for cell numbers – rather home, work and when is the best time to reach you. Really? I’m filling out forms that haven’t been changed in the last decade. Gah.