Metal Meredith

The Highs and Lows

Late last Sunday, I was determined to solve our Health Insurance woes. Currently, we pay about 40% of our income a month for all three of us through Phil’s company (yay - politics!). Phil and I discussed our finances last weekend and admittedly, it’s looking bleak. I resolved to find an alternative. We were so excited when we came across a plan that looked to be about three hundred dollars a month. It might just be the answers we looked for!

I called on Monday morning only to have Anthem quote me $1150 for all three of us, that’s every month!!! With Phil and I being on what anyone would nicely call the “chunky side,” we are apparently a bigger health risk than a mountain climber or a racecar driver. We are, essentially, uninsurable under normal plans. This started our week off in such a funk. I immediately armed myself with a stack daycare numbers and temp companies looking for babysitting and work (not to mention a good dose of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream). The resolve quickly fizzled when I went to the first daycare center and couldn’t bear to leave my child there.

By Wednesday and a good conversation with my support group (Thanks Stacey, Stacy and Lisa!), the panic was calmed to a dull ache and the week slowly droned on. Crisis averted.

Friday dinner, Vivienne was all set to eat some hot dogs and peaches when the phone rang. I assume the spot at the table while Phil talks with his friend Carter on the phone. Vivienne, always the dramatic actress, refuses to eat. I decided to start stacking her food. I place one hot dog on the plate and say “one”. Then I pick up another and put it on top of the next and “two”. Only it wasn’t me. Astonished, I picked up another one and placed it on the stack “fee”. Ok, so my kid is counting. It went on like this four or five more times. We went to ten at least three times. She just kept saying them in order “wun, too, fee, fure, fibe, sees, seben, ate, nyy, tin.” I was just amazed.

Phil quickly hung up the phone and watched and giggled with me. Now, I have never been one to call my kid a genius. Anyone who constantly falls, walks into solid objects and pokes herself in the eye four times a day can’t be very smart. But, here I am. I am listening to my 20 month old count to ten over and over. Phil gets her into the bath while I go check the toddler bible “What to Expect.”

I am reading through chapters named after months of life for my baby. I get to 18, then 19, 20, 21, 22 and still nothing. Finally, at 23 months, there is a snippet about reciting numbers and alphabets. Essentially, it tells the parents whose kids that don’t do this to not to be worried. Although 23 months is a bit young, it is usually due to increased watching of television shows like Sesame Street that has kids repeating things at a young age. *POP -----Fizzzz* That was my bubble bursting.

Ok, so I didn’t think Vivienne was going to join Mensa and become a rocket scientist. But, I wasn’t hating the prospect of having my first born soar above my expectations. However, I still reserve bragging rights for the plain fact that Vivienne can carry the tune to Sesame Street, the Alphabet Song, Elmo’s World and sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star all the way through using only the word “Apple”.

Although my week began with such high expectations squashed with one phone call, it ended with my low expectations being blown out of the water.

Take Care,
Meredith

Which Meant a Week Indoors

After that beautiful week of 70 degrees weather, we took a major drop this week. The highs were around freezing and the lows were arctic. We spent most of this week inside, which took a toll on my sanity and Vivienne’s attention span. By mid week, she was as bored of her toys as I was of her. On Wednesday, I thought we would be slick and run to the grocery store before the snow hit. We left just as the first flurries were falling. By the time we made it back to the car, there was about an inch of snow on the roads. The 5MPH Speed limit was automatic for Richmonders. It took Phil about an hour and a half to make it home from work. The whole city was at a stand still.

On Friday, Phil stayed home due to some car trouble and managed to get a load of work done. I was, as pathetic as it seems, really excited that things thawed out enough for me to do laundry. (When it gets really cold the pipe freezes and....nevermind).

Vivienne, Phil and I had a great weekend of just being a family. Phil had fun, although exhausting fun, running around the house after Vivienne. They played a lot. It gave me some free time to update the site and it gave her some real rough playtime that she hadn’t been able to have all week. More than anything, its Sunday night and instead of dreading the week ahead, I get to smile at the weekend just passing.

Oh, Happy Birthday this week to my childhood friend, Caroline Carr. Although I haven’t seen or spoken to her in over 10 years (at least), I seem to never forget her birthday, January 26th. She will be 31. (I even remember that her little brother’s is September 29th. Strange). The things we remember are so random!

Take Care!
Meredith

For months now I have been thinking about ‘luck’ and what it means to be ‘lucky’.

People tend to use the term luck frequently and without thought. Everyone from the guy that found the front parking space in the mall to the Tsunami survivors are all considered “lucky”. I am not so sure I buy it.

Getting into the actual definition of luck and why I do and don’t believe in it is for another day, but today I just wanted to share something that I have been thinking about for quite a while. Once, on a show called Nothern Exposure, there was a story that was told by one of the characters regarding luck and the thought behind it.

Phil and I hear often that we are so lucky to have one another. I don’t see it this way. Phil and I have worked hard for what we have together and that is what people are seeing. It wasn’t a chance meeting that turned into a perfect relationship. There was some coincindence, lots of work, and many hours of really listening.

We were ‘unlucky’ that the Cadillac was lost in the flood, yet we aren’t paying all that money in fuel each week. Phil used the insurance money to quit his job and start Top Dead Center Design. It was just the buffer we needed to take the initial plunge.

Although these are the top two that come into my head when I sit and think about it, the little ones are there, too. The whole reason this came about was last Monday’s street cleaning on our block. Phil was running a few minutes late for work and was looking for his shoes. When he couldn’t find them, we remembered that they were on the front porch covered in mud from the day before. He opened the door and saw a tow truck pulling up to his car. Both of us forgot that it was street cleaning. I know it seems so simple, but Phil was mad that he stepped in mud only to have it save his car from being towed. Maybe its all silly coincidence, maybe its karma. I will tell you one thing, however, its not “luck.”

Enjoy the story below and have a great week.

Love,
Meredith

The Warrior and the Stallion

As told by Marilyn Whirlwind from the televeision show “Northern Exposure”

Episode 5.14, ‘Bolt from the Blue’

My uncle once told me about a warrior who had a fine stallion.
Everybody said how lucky he was to have such a horse.

Maybe, he said.

One day the stallion ran off. The people said the warrior was unlucky.

Maybe, he said.

The next day, the stallion returned, leading a string of fine ponies.
The people said it was very lucky.

Maybe, the warrior said.

Later, the warrior’s son was thrown from one of the ponies and broke his leg.
The people said it was unlucky.

Maybe, the warrior said.

The next week, the chief led a war party against another tribe. Many young men were killed.
But, because of his broken leg, the warrior’s son was left behind, and so was spared.

FINALLY!

Phil and I have been looking forward to this for a month now, one entire weekend with no plans, no visitors, nowhere to be. How not exciting. How perfect. We managed to not answer the phone once, not go out more than twice and not do anything too strenuous. We watched 2 movies (Saved - funny and Napoleon Dynamite - not so much so) and many hours of television.
There just isn’t much to report on, really.

This week is much of the same. Then next weekend I get to meet someone who I have known for probably 2 years but have never met. Stacey is a friend from my Mom Group website. We ‘met’ on a pregnancy a site and have been emailing, venting, whining and yelling ever since. Lately, we even have made the jump to phone calls. Scary stuff. So this weekend I will venture to lovely Fredricksburg to meet her and her own clan. We are both excited and apprehensive about the face to face meeting and swear that we will hate each other on sight. I suspect this will be my update next weekend.

Until then, I have put up the Christmas photos under June-Jan 2004. I also have created the new Jan-June 2005 section where all the photo updates will be from now on. Please come by and take a look.

Love,
Meredith