Last night at a meeting, a woman spoke about "left-handed gifts" from the universe. For her, the most recent gift was losing her job, because it gave her the time she needed to focus on physical and emotional recovery from a pretty bad health crisis.
I've been thinking a bit about this. "Left-handed gifts." Now is not the worst time for me to be semi-employed. I can pay my rent (thank the heavens and knock on wood) and I suddenly have the time to explore the city, pay attention to my own mental tangles, make new friends, and take on passion projects.
However, I sometimes wish these "left-handed gifts" included health care. I've scheduled my first uninsured teeth cleaning for Monday and it's running me a good $160. This is a vast improvement over the first estimate (which included charting and x-rays) of $500. Still, neither is exactly a $25 co-pay.
At the end of the day, I am grateful to be able to afford this, even if it's more than I'd like. I'm grateful to be whining about preventative care and not unavoidable surgery (incredible amount of heaven-thanking and wood-knocking here). But all this gives me pause, too.
I cannot imagine being uninsured and living a risky life. The chances I took when I knew I had insurance to cover (and mend) my behind were ridiculous. Such risky behavior would be just plain insane should I exhibit it now that I'm insurance-less. Yikes.
Would universal health care put me back on the wide and wobbly road towards mayhem, that garden path of beast and grape? Doubtful.
But am I grateful I have a much stronger hold on my mindless self-destruction now that I'm uninsured? You bet my super-safely-padded bottom I am.
Vegan Oreos & Sleepytime Tea for all!
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