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Thankful Thursday, 11/12/09

By
Real Estate Sales Representative with RE/MAX Preferred RS152252A

The alarm went off, as it usually does at 6:27 this morning.  I have only recently started letting my little dog JJ sleep in my bed with me.  I roll over to quiet the music and JJ stretches, does a jaw cracking yawn and then licks my face.  Not being a morning person used to mean never having to smile that early, but I can't help it.  No matter what the day will bring, I know that it won't be all bad if the day started with a doggie kiss. 

Dog, woman and cranky cat saunter into the hall and dog and woman stumble down the hall so JJ can hop on Max's bed and give his face a little lick as well.  Cat wouldn't lick one of our faces if it was covered in ocean whitefish and tuna!  Morning has broken at the Mangigian home!  Max awakens very much like I do but while he stumbles into the shower, the Mangigian parade continues down the stairs with me holding the rail as dog and cat vie to see who can reach bottom first.  The old saying that they fight like cats and dogs only applies here if the saying means that the cat rules and dog hides behind his owner!

Lest you all think I am a sunny dispositioned Polly-Anna, the week was off to a very bad start on Monday.  I found out on Friday that my health insurance is increasing, if I don't make any changes to my current deductibles by $436 PER MONTH!!  I knew I had to make some changes to my deductibles but I wanted to stay with my current plan which is Personal Choice.  Jack has insurance (that would be my husband) through Keystone at his work, but I am not ready to go to an HMO.  On Sunday, Jack asked me if I wanted him to have his insurance guy call me and give me prices on an HMO.  I said no, don't have him call me.  I don't want an HMO. 

8:00 AM the phone rings at my house.  Hello, is this Susan?  Jack asked me to call you to discuss our HMO's.  If this wasn't something that happened all the time around here, maybe I wouldn't have been quite so mad.  But when I say no, I mean no.  If I wanted to talk to someone about an HMO, I would pick up the phone.   I did learn that the reason for the huge increase this year was because I had turned 50!  As added insult to injury, the week was off to a rocky start.

But as is my nature, okay I can sometimes be a sunny dispostioned Polly-Anna, I got to work, and after bitching and complaining to anyone who would listen and a few who have heard it all before, I started to feel a little better.  I went to lunch with Liz Facenda, who always makes me laugh and life got back to normal. Until yesterday when I went to buy pants and realized that my scale isn't broken, I have put on too much weight.  Ugh.

Such is life.  I will have to start watching what I eat again, so that I can fit into the clothes I have.  And stepping up the cardio workouts, which I have been letting go in favor of weight lifting which hasn't done much for the spare tire I'm starting to grow around my middle.   

Yesterday, I went on line, adjusted my deductibles to a point where I'm not really all that comfortable, but got the payment down to only $165 more a month than I was paying last year, making my health insurance for my boys and me only slightly less than my mortgage payment. 

I looked out the window yesterday morning and there were 50 balloons on my neighbor's lawn!  I laughed and knew right away that her older son had driven over during the night and put them there.  I laughed even more when she called me and thanked me for doing it!  I am thankful today, for Nora, my next door neighbor, who turned 50 not long after me.  She's a great friend and we are going to breakfast today to celebrate her birthday. Nora's 50 balloons I'm guessing the diet starts next week because I am also going to lunch later today, after delivering meals on wheels and to dinner tomorrow night with some friends! 

I guess my point is this.  There will always be things to bitch about. Life can be a bowl of cherries and sometimes you are going to break a molar on the pits.  It just is.

So today, I am thankful for Nora.  We'll have a ton of laughs at breakfast.  I am thankful for all of my friends, who can always tell from my facial expression when I am having a bad day and who never seem to tire of listening to me until I feel better.  I am thankful as always for JJ and even more so now, for my morning kisses.  I am thankful for my health club because I have friends there who made me feel better last night when I was bitching and complaining over there about my weight gain!  You can do it, they said.  Yes, I can.  I just didn't want to have to!  But, I'll be thankful that at a time when some families don't have enough to eat, I managed to eat enough food and drink enough wine to have something to whine about.  I am thankful that my college boy bestowed the honor of commenting on my facebook last night.  That's always nice.  Oh, and I am thankful if you managed to stick with this all the way to the bottom!  I thank you!

Go out and find something to be thankful for today. 

Carpe Diem!

 

 

Posted by

Susan C. Mangigian

re/max preferred
117 Campus Blvd, Suite 155, Newtown Square, PA 19073

610-719-1700 main office, 610-299-6237 cell 

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Comments (26)

Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Susan, bitching and laughing all in the same day. I think you have figured out life. It seems to ALWAYS be this way if you are alive. Your Jack story is funny. He is acting like a woman. No means Yes. How frustrating! With medical insurance those guys think we all are bottomless pits with the premium increases and sometimes the deductibles just go high enough you are buying catastrophic coverage in essence. Keep your JJ sunny disposition through it all, and bitching is good so you don't explode. I think this Active Rain Thursday venting is actually quite cathartic for you. And BTW, there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for. I only have to think of YOU, and I am set for the day.... ; )

Nov 12, 2009 01:46 AM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Susan..i am thankful I can comment on your page and that you reminded me to check my mail from my health care provider..  Have a good one...:0)

HELPFULHANNAH

Nov 12, 2009 02:00 AM
Carol Culkin
Diamond Partners Inc - Overland Park, KS
Overland Park Residential Real Estate

Susan - Yes, I stuck with it until the bottom ...and I am thankful I did.  Great Post. Have a good day!

Nov 12, 2009 04:34 AM
Team Honeycutt
Allen Tate - Concord, NC

You are right we should all be thankful for every minute of every day.

shelton

Nov 12, 2009 04:57 AM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

Dan, I love my dog's kisses.  Health care reform as a topic is not on the menu on my posts! 

Tammy, I don't think I'd want a big dog to lick my face either!  And I was never a fan of a dog licking me at all until I met the love of my life, JJ!

Gary, I know lots of women who when they say no, they mean no.  Jack wasn't acting like a woman, Jack was acting like a man... a man who doesn't listen well!  thank you for always being there to listen to me bitch!

Hey Hannah, I almost didn't bother to open it because it always goes up about $100 or so and I figured it would be the same this year.  It was a nasty surprise on Friday to see just how much it did go up!

Hi Carol, Thank you for reading it today!  xxoo

Shelton, thanks!

Nov 12, 2009 05:36 AM
Robert Rauf
CMG Home Loans - Toms River, NJ

Susie, this one made me laugh. LOVE IT!   But one question: Why 6:27???? why not 6:32?

Nov 12, 2009 07:33 AM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

Robby, I am basically a very lazy person.  I have to change the wake-up time every now and again and I shoot for approximately 6:30.  Any time within a few minutes of that number works, so when I get close to it, I stop trying.  I'm glad I made you laugh!!! 

Nov 12, 2009 07:42 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Susan, Health insurance is out of control...I'm paying now $800 (with a decrease!) and it's an HMO.  I just am glad I can still manage to pay it because so many people have none.

Nov 12, 2009 11:28 AM
Suzanne McLaughlin
Sabinske & Associates, Inc. (Albertville, St. Michael) - Saint Michael, MN
Sabinske & Associates, Realtor

Hey babe,  just checking... still married?  Or has the dog gotten the other side of the bed?  We love you!  You are not lazy, BTW, just motivated by some things and not others.  You made my day. 

Nov 12, 2009 12:32 PM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

Carole, it really is disheartening but we do need to be grateful we can pay it. 

Hey Suzanne!  I am still married, no worries.  You always make my day with your friendship. xxoo

Nov 12, 2009 01:20 PM
Sharon Richards
Kirsten Realty Tampa Florida - Tampa, FL

Susan - My health insurance is also going up and I am thankful I can still afford it.  I love your Thankful Thursday Posts and hope you will always write one.  I am so addicted maybe a book is in the future?

Nov 12, 2009 02:37 PM
Paddy (Patricia) Pizappi
Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty - Pine Bush, NY
Real Estate Associate Broker Hudson Valley NY

JJ in the morning is a good thing, I love that he is so special to you.  Your husband should warn his "helpful" friends that morning is not your thing Susan.  I am glad you found a way to decrease the insurance bite.  That stinks.  I am thankful we have a PPO through Dan's job.  It allows a bit more choice than the HMO I had years ago. 

Nov 12, 2009 09:42 PM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

I am so bad with following the details but Robby caught that 6:27 a.m. rise and shine time. It's nice you are not applying two decimal points to your chronological age anymore and are just rounding it off to the nearest year like the rest of us. But I see your penchant to be precise has shifted to alarm clocks LOL. You are one of the most interesting people I know with your idiosyncrasies Susan. Don't worry. You are completely normal compared to me with mine. I enjoy soggy corn flakes and touring cemeteries but that's just between you and me and the 100,000+ people here.

Nov 13, 2009 09:23 AM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

Sharon, I am so grateful to still be able to afford it as well!  xxoo

Paddy, I am sure that most HMO's are fine, I just don't want one.  Maybe when the kids are grown and have their own insurance.

Gary, interesting is one way of putting it.  Eccentric another.  Crazy is another!  I never realized I was precise.  I just know that at this time, that is what time my alarm goes off.  The next time I change it because I want to sleep in or get up earlier, I will change it back and and soon as the time gets anywhere near 6:30, I'll stop trying.  For about 6 months, it went off at 6:37!  Quirky... another good word for me!  Soggy corn flakes??  Ugh!  And BTW, I am now 50 2/12.  xxoo

Nov 13, 2009 09:32 AM
Sheldon Neal
Bergen County, NJ - RE/MAX Real Estate Limited - Maywood, NJ
That British Agent Bergen County NJ

Health insurance, housing tax, groceries, unfortunately we are feeling to squeezes too. But I love your approach, and like you, we could always find a way to wake up and bitch if we wanted to ... we choose to wake up and imagine starting the day with something like a sloppy JJ kiss :o)

... and everything usually starts off pretty well

Nov 13, 2009 12:11 PM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

HI Sheldon, well one of the things that started my day was your comment and your pleasant smiling face, so I am happy.  Thanks for the visit ducky, you are a gem!

Nov 14, 2009 12:09 AM
Michael Bergin
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - ABR - SRES - Alexandria, VA
Northern Virginia Real Estate

Susan - what a nice post.  We've had a hard two years but we still have a roof over our heads, friends who love and car for us, work we love and faith that sustains us. 

Michael

Nov 14, 2009 11:25 AM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

Hi Michael, thank you so much.  The last two years have been a challenge but we made it through and I am thankful you still have all you mentioned.  xxoo

Nov 14, 2009 01:42 PM
Mary Douglas
United Country Ponderosa Realty, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado - Red Feather Lakes, CO
REALTOR, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado

Susan, I see I should have headed over here first thing yesterday! LOL  Your Thankful Thurdays always put a smile on my face. I don't like it that Health Insurance Companies raise our rates simply because we get older, as if to say "Well, you've managed to make it this far, congratulations, now you get to pay more" :-)  Happy Day Susan, thanks for your last thought- it is so true.

Nov 14, 2009 02:45 PM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

Mary, I didn't realize you had snuck over here!  Happy day to you too!

Nov 17, 2009 12:43 PM