Just When You Think You Have Things Figured Out

Yesterday, I took The Pony to the County Health Center for a Tdap shot. That's tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, for those of you without communicable-disease age children. It was spur of the moment, because I cleaned a bunch of junk mail off the kitchen counter, and found The Pony's final grades that had been mailed to us in May. And we won't enter into a discussion of Mrs. Hillbilly Mom's mad housekeeping skillz at this time.

Enclosed with the grades, which I had not cared to open, because The Pony is a good student and we both know it, was a letter from the school nurse explaining that he would not be able to attend classes this fall until he could show proof of a Tdap vaccination. Well, wasn't that a fine how do you do at this late date. I called the County Health Department, where the boys' old pediatrician used to advise me to take them for shots, because it was free. That was right before he forsook them to become an allergist, who instead gave people shots for lots of money.

Anyhoo...the person in charge of Shot Clinic told me that yes, it did not matter that The Pony had private insurance, to bring him on in, and do it yesterday, because next week they expect to be bombarded with business due to school starting up again. So apparently other Hillmomba housewives are as lax on cleaning off their kitchen counters as Mrs. Hillbilly Mom. The Shot Clinic is on Mondays, from 1:00 to 3:00. Next week, they're expanding it from 4:00 to 6:00 as well.

The Pony and I took off to get him shot. We arrived at 2:15 because first I had to fight with the pharmacy about prescriptions, because my primary insurance wanted to not pay at all and charge me $45.00 on a medicine, but the secondary let me have it for $17.00. Oh, and two generics were $10.00 apiece, except for the past six months they've been charging me $4.00 each. When I complained, the clerk said she could get them for me for $4.00, and the whole problem was that I had TWO insurances. Pardon me. By paying for two forms of health insurance, I am overbilled $40.00 per month on prescriptions? Or $480 per year? That's highway robbery!

While giving The Pony's info for the Tdap, the technician offered the meningitis vaccine. It is not required for school, but recommended for kids 11-19, and college students are required to have it before they can live in a dorm. She said that they are giving it now for free, but that the cost is normally $100 for the one-time vaccination. So...I agreed, and broke the news to The Pony that he would be getting shot twice. He wasn't too keen on the idea, but since he can't drive or walk home, he went along with the plan.

We waited until after 3:00 for his name to be called. By the time we left, I offered to pick him up some Burger King as a reward. The poor Pony had not even eaten lunch yet, as he was waiting until after the shot. He threw up one time after a flu shot, which might have been a factor in that decision. I called #1 to see if he wanted anything. By the time we got home, it was 4:30, so I went ahead and cooked Farmer H some Polish Kielbasa and sauerkraut. Ten minutes after it had been simmering, Farmer H called to say that he didn't want any supper, that he had to help his number one son with some electricity. Of course, he didn't tell me this, he told our #1, who thought to let me know another ten minutes after the call. THEN Farmer H thought to call me, the short-temper cook, and declared that he liked that meal, and would eat it upon arriving home at 7:00.

At 6:55, the #1 son, having digested his Burger King meal for an entire two hours, came to ask exactly what was on the stove that I had cooked that his dad didn't want, because it smelled really good, and he would like to have it. I explained that it was now spoken for, and that besides, he did not like kraut. Au contraire, he did declare. "I've always liked sausage and sauerkraut. I wish I had some."

So today I went out and bought more. I'm sure the kid won't touch it. And he's getting a free meningitis vaccination Monday, whether he likes it or not.