My days had been filled with so much stress lately. Rick and I are at the point in our lives where we have to make a decision in what to do with our future. In four more months, he can officially retire. But he doesn't know if he can last that long at his current job. Government funding is really limited and his resources is running low. He's tired of looking for grants day in and day out. Having a democratic president means that funding for environmental projects will be good again. But even if Obama won, CHANGE wont start happening anytime soon. I think it will be too late for Rick when it does.
Another dilemma we are facing is the health care. He gets his health insurance through work, right now, therefore not working means no health insurance. Not having health insurance in this country is a definite no no. You will be buried in debt if you don't have one. There are government programs, but it is for families with low income. We wont qualify even if we are just getting his pension money each month. A possibility we are considering is moving to the Philippines. Health care is affordable there, but I am not too sure if they are reliable. He had an emergency appendectomy the last time he visited me in the Philippines. A local doctor told him it's just constipation and prescribed him a laxative. He didn't get better overnight, so we decided to go to a bigger hospital. Well, turned out his appendix is about ready to rupture! That's why I am a little apprehensive about the idea of moving there for good.
Retirement and health care. That's basically the topic of our conversation nowadays. We mostly end up arguing and me getting upset. He is a very realistic person while I live in the "lala" land. I love shortcuts and quick fixes. He likes to dissect every idea to the core and always manages to find a flaw. While I drift into my wonderful world of fantasy, he always manages to pull me back to reality with a big thud! The eternal optimist in me hates it. But I have to agree, we have to be realistic sometimes. Friends had shared their ideas too and we are very thankful for the input. We would love to stay here and we will exhaust every possibility to make that happen.
Oh, if only life was easier then we don't have to argue or be crabby at work. I don't like sharing my misery. But the stress is sometimes too much to handle. We will have to decide and hopefully whatever we come up with, is the right choice. I leave it all in God's hands... Being a grown-up is really hard. I am not used to the thought of being responsible. I have always been dependent on my family. But now I have to stand on my own two feet and use my own mind. I know I have Rick and I can rely on him. But we have to make the decisions together. He likes it when I get involved. Therefore, he relies on me too to make decisions for us. I never had anybody rely on me before. Now, I have to grow up, suck it up and stop complaining. This is life!
So enjoy your youth while you can. Take advantage of the opportunity that is being given to you. Life gets harder as years go by... Carpe Diem!
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