Since our blog is technically our family journal, I wanted to make sure I got this picture in from last Christmas. My friend Kelli (who I worked with in Montana) came to visit and we went and saw the local Santa helper in the neighborhood.
I know it sounds crazy, but come September I'm so excited for fall/winter holidays and weather. I can't wait!
On a side note, we got our blog published and it is awesome. If you want to check it out just let me know, it is so worth the time and money to put it together. A great memory of our past few years and the quality is great.
James got the itch to change up the look of our blog and made this super sweet new layout. I'm always amazed at his skills, he's a rockstar! Thanks for the upgrade it looks awesome!
First, most of us can't describe accurately the details of the health care reform now under debate. That makes us look stupid or too busy to care.
Second, most of us can't describe accurately the health care or insurance we currently have, so that makes us look kind of stupid or lazy.
Some of us don't care about people who don't have health insurance, so that makes us seem unsympathetic or super lucky.
Most of us don't understand that we're already paying for people who don't have health care — which makes us too busy to care, in denial or merely rich.
Some of us — a lot of us — already receive health care under some form of government plan, but don't believe in health care under some form of government plan. That makes us hypocritical or selfish. In some camps, I hear that makes us patriotic.
A lot of us are a combination of these things: too busy, lazy, a bit stupid perhaps, lucky, unsympathetic, in-denial, really rich, hypocritical, selfish ... and patriotic.
We're having an identity crisis when it comes to caring about the nation's health, which makes me think what we really need is psychotherapy. But, sadly, that's not covered under most health plans, if you have one at all.
To many, health care reform is scary, like someone's building a halfway house for criminals right at their doorstep. It's a N.I.M.B.Y. ("Not In My Backyard") issue evolved into a N.O.M.B.O. ("Not On My Back, Obama") issue.
People never change. But policy can, so our health care reformers must get more creative and visionary.
How about a Cash for Clunkers Program? Not for cars, but for older, beat-up people whose bodies have wear and tear, and can't go long distances when they're filled with gas?
Our government is offering us $4,500 to buy a new car. Can it also offer humans incentives — say, a tax break — to join a gym? To quit smoking? Or to buy produce from local farmers? Reward schools that teach kids how to eat right and exercise? You know, kind of like that class we used to offer kids called "gym."
Let's pay people to stay healthy, instead of only paying for them when they get sick. Then maybe our nation will find its compassion, the one true antidote for its health care identity crisis.
