Even my doctor refuses to see me.

Hello folks, it is Thursday, July 12, 2012. I am not going to the doctor this morning for my annual physical check-up. They called me on Monday to let me know that he would be out of the office today. Well. Whoop-dee-doo! My prior doctor had these notes stuck all over the wall about all the dire consequences of not showing up on time, being charged if you didn't call, and other threatening notices. I always got the first appointment and still had to wait! Maybe I should have put my own note on his wall. I did get there early. I was ready to go. I was the only patient scheduled at that time. First in line, but, I still had to wait. Even after I wrote a nice letter to him and his staff thanking them for their help and telling them I was moving to another medical coverage, they still sent me an angry form letter about not showing up for my next appointment. Time for some of that Angry Birds game, if you know what I mean. The email I received from my current doctor simply said my appointment was cancelled by my provider. I suppose he would be the provider in this situation. And, oh by the way, you will need to call and set yourself up with another appointment, at your convenience, of course. I know. The sarcasm is thick and creamy this morning but that's just the way it is, but I will try not to let it ruin my day.

I was all primed and ready to have my little forth and back with my doctor. You know. If you don't get personally and directly involved in an interactive way in your personal healthcare these days, who will? Now I will have to de-prime and then get ready to be re-primed for my next visit. No wonder we meet ourselves coming back at times.As you can tell, the good thing about all of this is how that I have learned to not take it personally. You wouldn't have guessed that from the way I have been carrying on? I thought I was being rather calm about the whole thing. It has been reset for the 24th so that should give me plenty of time to get my thoughts recollected. If he tells me why he wasn't able to be in the office it will probably be a very reasonable explanation. It usually works that way. Like the time the fellow didn't show up for a presentation he was supposed to make at the company I worked for. The comment was made that he might better have a really good reason for standing us up. He did. He was dead. They found him laying on the bed in his hotel room with his presentation in his lap. Massive heart attack. No doubt helped along by unreasonable people who expected him to always be where he was supposed to be without ever being a second late. At least he had a good excuse. Right?

I would ask for prayers on behalf of our brother-in-law Charles. This is my wife's sister's husband. He is in the hospital over in Louisiana and not doing very well at this time. He's been in for several weeks and may be there for a while longer. It's his lungs. They are hardly working. We go way back with these folks. Some fifty years. Charles is a fellow who has always lived up to the Louisiana slogan of the state being a Sportsman's Paradise. Always active, always outside, fishing, hunting, doing yard work, staying busy. Now he struggles for the next breath. We know God knows all about it and we are seeking His best for Charles and the rest of this wonderful family. There are others we are also praying for each day. The prayer list is long. Maybe as we get older we better recognize the frailty and fragility of life. That inscription on the coffee mug is so true. We do recognize the plight of others but certainly challenges take on new meaning when it is ourselves or someone very close to us. Many times it changes our point of view. Knowing that might help us to be a little more understanding even when your appointment gets highjacked. Just joking. I've already said it doesn't really bother me that much, hardly any at all, in fact, why am I still even mentioning it? Now, you go out there today and have yourself a good one, and don't forget to thank God for all that He has done, is doing, and will do in the future for us all. Amen. .....More later.