I almost laughed out loud when I read that today’s task at “Making Your Home Your Haven” was to incorporate fun into the day, because so far, our day hasn’t seemed very fun. I got up early this morning and got both my son and I fed and dressed before we met my Turkish neighbor, Rano, outside to go over to the Social Services department to see if we could get her Medical assistance back up.
Having helped several different people over the last few years, it always amazes me how many lines they are able to make you stand in. First, we stood in line to get another Medical application. Then, after completing it, we stood in another line to get a number to turn it in, only to wait another hour and a half before that number was called, and then they told us to go stand in line again to get another number for my friend to get fingerprinted. After finally getting called for that after another half hour, we headed home for lunch and a nap for my son, but will head back this afternoon for another appointment for her to meet with a case worker.
So I don’t know how much “fun” I will be able to fit into today’s plan. I am thankful at least that my son was in great spirits and was happy to sit in his stroller most of the time. And I guess you could say it was entertaining when one man stormed into the lobby yelling that he needed someone to help him with the fax machine because he didn’t know how to use it.
Despite all of the waiting, I’m glad I’m able to help my friend, though. Sitting in the office waiting room for so many hours gives you a wide-eyed glimpse into the world of food stamps and welfare assistance. I don’t know the stories of everyone who is there, but what I can say is that I saw a lot of young mothers with lots of kids in tow, with puzzled expressions on their faces as they tried to fill out page after page of applications by themselves.
I pulled a frozen pizza dough out of the freezer to thaw out this afternoon, and we’ll have pizza tonight, and it’s possible my husband and I might get out for a walk with our son this evening before it gets dark, but because most of my day has been taken up by the appointments, I’ll probably have even more “fun” tonight cleaning the bathroom and catching up on laundry.
1 Comment
November 13, 2008 at 2:47 pm
wow! that’s alot of time waiting and alot of lines! i’m glad you were able to help your friend tho. my husband was in an accident and qualified for disability so we got to go the the SSI office several times. the lines were shorter, and they helped us quite well, but i would hate to have to go every day! and yes, the paperwork is maddening.
glad to have found your blog. your lentil recipe looks wonderful. we love lentils and ahven’t had them in awhile.