Not the Best Week Ever

This has not been a great week.

For instance, right now, I’m typing and cannot see any of the words I’m typing because my computer is so slow it takes several minutes for this line of type to appear. It’s an interesting way to see how well I type, but incredibly annoying when I’d actually like to see what I’m typing. I haven’t been able to see any of the words I’ve typed since “great.” Nope. Still nothing. What he hell is wrong with this stupid computer?

Okay, the paragraph just showed up and I spelled four words wrong. Shoot, there it goes again. Dadgum it, I still can’t see anything.

Okay, there it is. Let’s see if it will work now… looks like it.

So I’ve been having horrible computer problems. I was emailing my uncle, whom I lovingly refer to as “Mr. Computer” but I don’t have the heart to tell him things are still bad. Part of the problem is all I can say is, “The darn thing doesn’t work. It’s slow.” Then he asks questions that I don’t understand, much less know the answers to, so I think I’m giving up on our computers. I’ve come to terms with the fact that when I go to check my email I know that I’ll click the icon, go away, read a book, drink a diet Coke, grade some papers, then come back and check my email. That’s the way it is.

Yesterday was horrible; Rebecca had two teeth pulled and it was bad. It was really, really bad. Amy had a few teeth pulled last year; she said she hardly felt a thing. She didn’t even realize she’d gotten a shot. So I went in thinking Rebecca’s experience would be the same. It wasn’t.

She felt everything and didn’t like any of it. She didn’t like the gel, didn’t like Dr. Andy shaking her lip to distract her from the shot, and believe me, she didn’t like the shot. She screamed and cried and I had no idea what to do.

Once her gum was asleep I thought the worst was over; again, I was mistaken. He forgot to tell her (or me) that she’d hear a cracking sound when he pulled the tooth out. When she heard it she freaked out.

It was one of those moments I’ll never forget. I’ll never forget how she cried and I’ll never forget how helpless I felt.

I asked her this morning how she’s going to feel next week when I tell her it’s time to go back to the dentist. She said, and I quote, “I’m not going.” I think I’m going to ask Dr. Andy to refer us to a pediatric dentist who can give her some laughing gas. Maybe he’ll shoot some my way while he’s at it.

It’s also been a stressful week due to my reading list. I’ve been checking out http://www.sojo.org/, the website of Sojourners, a left-leaning Christian activist group. Heck, they’re not just left-leaning; they’ve leaned all the way over and smacked their heads on the floor. Maybe that’s why the contributors to the website show a shocking lack of intelligence.

I’ve been reading it to try and understand the views of some of my extended family members. There are a few members of my fam who are most definitely believers but not conservatives. I’ve been told you can be a Christian and not conservative, but anyone who believes that is retarded. I would have hesitated to make such a bold remark before reading sojo.org; now, I have solid evidence liberal Christians are all heart and no brain.

Don’t get me wrong; I definitely have great sympathy for many of their causes. I don’t want children to go without healthcare. I don’t want soldiers dying. I hate that some folks are un- or undereducated. Where we differ is on the solution: They want the almighty government to fix the ills of society and I don’t think the government can fix anything.

Take the current brouhaha over SCHIP, the government-funded health care program for poor children. President Bush this week vetoed the SCHIP bill that came to his desk because the increase in its funding was insanely huge. The supporters wanted the $25 billion (that’s billion with a “B”) program boosted by $35 billion. Instead, Bush wanted to keep the SCHIP program funded with an increase of $5 billion. But the commentators at sojo.org vilified the president, asking why he would want poor children to be sick. Give me a break.

The good folks at Sojourners also failed to acknowledge the increase they’re pushing for would include families with incomes up to, get ready…$80,000. Call me crazy, but where I come from, $80,000 is not poor.

But beyond that, what the heck is the government doing providing this kind of social program at all? Please, someone show me the part in the Constitution that says, “The government is being formed to take care of you. Do not worry; you will not have to do anything. We’ll give you food, money, health care. We’re going to take it from the people aren’t content to sit around, who got themselves educated and work hard to provide for their families. They don’t deserve to keep it. Besides, they probably inherited it anyway.”

Argh.

I’ve also been incredibly homesick. For the most part, I don’t pine away for home any more. I have come to terms with the fact that I’m not going back and I need to get on with life here. (After two and a half years I certainly hope so.) But Sunday morning we sang a song at church that I’d first heard at church back home and I couldn’t hold back the tears.

Then I got an email from Tina saying she and Jill had coffee this week and I was so jealous.

So when you combine my computer problems, the trip to the dentist, the stupidity of the non-thinkers on the left and my homesickness, I was already down in the dumps. But then Casey choked and Hung won Top Chef. Are you kidding me? Like my week wasn’t bad enough already.