Today is my 7th consecutive weekday of clinical work and I am super behind in all things podcast! I don’t think I’d actually mind longer stretches of clinical work if I hadn’t created a whole . . . different job, but I did and now it’s hard to balance things with so many clinical days in a row.
BUT I knew going in that this month would be really weird and challenging, so at least a) I didn’t assign myself anything ‘extra’ and b) I am not feeling any sort of surprise!
I’m going to follow up on my prior psychic unrest post, because interestingly most of the issues dissolved or resolved (yay!), some are still plaguing me, and there are now some new ones.
RESOLVED:
- Plastic bottles! I emailed the teacher and was reassured nothing bad would happen if we did not procure all of those bottles, so I immediately took that item off of my list and deleted it from my mental load file. Since we don’t have an easy way to get it done, we’re just going to . . .not do it.
- C’s bday party! We finally picked a date, and then I booked the party online (we’re doing it at Top Golf again, it’s a fun venue and very easy). Still need to do invites etc, but the part I was struggling with was the actual scheduling, so happy to have that checked off.
- Pilates scheduling woes. Okay not SOLVED, but I got into an evening class yesterday and it was actually a lovely post-work activity. I guess I just need to open my mind to other scheduling possibilities. (I may also try to test into level 2 for even more options, but that plan might not work out.)
- A’s gym meet on a Friday night . . . was actually really fun, and Josh was able to come and do the driving which is partly what I was dreading, so yay!
NOT RESOLVED:
- Birth control RX (I use a this, previously covered in full by insurance) still in prior authorization limbo. Come on, insurance! I might just succumb and self-pay to buy myself some time (but somehow it’s over $300! GAH!).
- New Item #1! Minor drama re: my colonoscopy and cardiac clearance. Hopefully this will work out but I’m annoyed it’s even an 11th hour issue. (And I REALLY don’t want to postpone it after I moved patients and everything!)
- New Item #2! I GOT DENIED for a a rewards credit card (my credit score is well over 800, we pay in full on time 100% of the time, and I haven’t opened any cards in many months, so I don’t really get it!). But, good to know, I guess? It made me kind of less excited about playing the whole game. I mean, no one likes rejection!
- New Item #3! I realized that our trip next week will mean certain consecutive sports practices are missed, and now I feel kind of bad about it. It’s super hard! I want to travel with the kids — it’s just a wonderful way to have fun experiences and make memories together, but the older they get they get worried about missing other things in their lives.
I had heard about this dilemma / struggle for years from parents with older kids (Laura, Kae, others IRL), but feel like I’m just getting a taste of it now and it’s only going to intensify. Now, we do not have anyone in the family that is a high enough level athlete that it’s going to make some sort of career/life difference if practices are missed. BUT, that doesn’t mean it’s not important to them NOW, and that still counts too, right?
BUT (yes, another one), at the same time I don’t want to leave every opportunity for travel/family fun behind, because they are limited!!! THE YEARS REALLY ARE SHORT YOU KNOW!?
I know – this is all SO OBVIOUS. We can’t have everything, go to everything, do it ‘all’. Prioritize.
Select <– 2026 word of the year!
It’s definitely too late to change our Feb trip now, but if we decide to travel in that time frame again next year I think we’ll keep it shorter and not take up the whole week. (That said, who even knows if the same kids will be doing the same sports? Everything is uncertain! I guess I can just book things closer to the date even if it sometimes gives me hives.)
I have to end this post and say that despite all of this complaining, I am in a really positive headspace overall (aside from colonoscopy anxiety but that will be over soon). I truly LOVED our past weekend. It was everything I envisioned about ‘older kid parenthood’ (well, maybe I envisioned doing more running, but other than that). I am the kind of person that generally thrives from having a lot going on, and we . . . definitely have a lot going on. I feel like I am “selecting” pretty well this year, too, and defaulting to yes and that so far has paid off.
So, minor annoyances aside (and they are kind of fun to share because I know many of us struggle with similar little annoying things!), things are really good lately. Or they will be once the colonoscopy is over.
Oh, and I finished listening to all of the albums on this list. Rosalía is amazing.
15 Comments
Did you look for a coupon for the birth control? Even if it got you through the month. I feel like every brand name medication has a coupon/savings program. Do thy sample? Maybe your gyn’s office has some samples you could have.
Ooh not sure about sample – I will ask!! Coupon tried that did not seem to help . . .
The fin print on coupons is maddening.
I think the most important thing when planning trips around kids sports is to try to take into consideration what point in the season it is and how much impact it will have. For example, with Asher and swimming, I would NOT schedule a trip in the last few weeks leading up to the end of season/ State when he’s physically peaking and missing would really set him back. (Think…you missing the peak mileage weeks of a marathon training plan!) I also wouldn’t make him miss a major meet (like the end of season meets/State) that he would be crushed to miss. I have found it usually works best to miss during either the very beginning of the season or a mid-point where they still have enough time to ramp back up before the season end. Definitely is tricky! Because like you said, on the one hand, you don’t want to miss family opportunities, but on the other hand, these things matter to them, too… especially if they’re working hard all year toward a goal, only to have me schedule a trip right in the middle of it all!
This is where we land too. One of our kids is a serious athlete, and it’s important that we demonstrate to him both that we respect his commitment to his sport, AND that it shouldn’t dominate our family’s life. That being said, if he’s gearing up for a district or state meet, it would be dismissive of us to want him to miss a lot of practice or a meet he’s worked hard for. If it’s something that matters a lot to them, I think we owe it to them to respect that and take it seriously.
totally makes sense to me too!
I have heard Citi and Capital One are both very inquiry sensitive, if it was one of those, so don’t take it personally. I have not been denied yet while playing this “game” but my husband was denied late last year for the C1 Venture X and has great credit. I think it is just part of the process to get denied occasionally!
I think kids sometimes lack perspective on the importance of missing a few practices here and there, so although it’s good to want to support your kids and their preferences, you really have the benefit of knowing how much more fun and memorable a trip will be in the long run, even if they don’t! I say keep traveling and have a great time!
On the cc denial, I’m guessing it is Capital One (no need to tell us). They are notorious for denials if you are in the points and miles space. I have always avoided them.
ha, nope! it wasn’t!! i’ve actually never applied for a Capital One card. I actually really haven’t done that many cards period which is why I’m mystified!
What Gillian said about the coupon! Right in the center of Phexx’s screen is a link that says “prescriptions and savings” and there’s a link to a co-pay savings card. It says it’s for the first Rx, but maybe they have some wriggle room. I used to work for a company that did PA’s, and their number one fan was the pharma companies – for every Rx that can’t be filled they lose money too, so they have an incentive to get us our medications. I previously used a copay card to get prescription eye drops that were serious $$$ even with insurance for free.
[Seriously…the system doesn’t serve anyone so why can’t we fix it already? But that’s a bigger world issue.]
Welcome to world of credit card denials! It’s practically a status symbol in the credit card hacking world. Capital One is known for not liking us folks with high credit scores who pay their bills every month. AmEx also doesn’t like me. I’ve never tried to call to ask to be reconsidered, but that might be an option [but probably not high on the priority list with your schedule right now].
I’ve had luck with those coupons before but so far not with this one! (Maybe bc i’m in limbo, not approved or denied yet!?)
re: kids and sports. Our kids were on the ski team so it meant zero travel other than skiing all winter long. As high school started and then AP classes ramped up, the immense amount of ski travel and school days missed, stopped being worth the trade off. They were never going to by Olympic athletes, but this is a skill they can always have, so we have downsized their commitment and now only ski 1-2x/month as opposed to every weekend.
We are only beginning to run into the kids and activities issue, too. It’s hard! And my kiddo is only 12, so it feels like she’s still at the point of trying things out and figuring out what she loves, and yet everything is so HARD CORE. I ended up having to opt her out of a sport completely because we have so many other commitments that are going to make practicing super patchy. UGH.
I have strong opinions about kids’ sports and family vacations and I feel like it’s the opposite of what most people assume they’ll be as a former nationally-ranked/Division I college athlete. Similar to what others have said, we don’t miss really critical training or championship meets (i.e. Jan-Feb are locked in training times; and our vacation is always in late July because that’s after Sectionals), but we do take two big family trips every year, one in summer and one over Spring Break, and practice is missed and coaches are annoyed and I don’t care at all. I am so thankful my family always took our camping trips and our epic road trips to Wisconsin (from Houston!) every summer despite my competition schedule. I treasure my memories from Nationals and other swim meets, but I treasure just as much my memories of sleeping in our camper beside a lake in the great North Woods. It’s a balance for sure, but it’s one that is so important!
that’s super interesting + helpful! Your perspective is definitely valuable here even though my kids are not on the track you were on (and at least one of your kids is on!!!)