All Things Writing

The Craft of Writing


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Don’t Laugh

Okay. I’m serious. I definitely worry that if I sit at my desk, typing all day, not only will I have carpal tunnel syndrome, but a butt that’s the size of a chair cushion. A large chair cushion. Complicating matters is the fact that I hurt my knees in an overly enthusiastic exercise attempt.

NordicTrack SkierYesterday my NordicTrack Skier arrived. You know the one? It has sort of cross country skis? So all you have to do is slide your legs. (I’m laughing now, too.) And it has those handles so you can pull on the ropes that give your arms exercise. It looks so easy on television, doesn’t it?

I’m here to tell you that those television people either intrinsically understood the appropriate ratios of tension on the bottom flywheel to their abilities OR they deleted the portions of the tapes where they stepped onto the machine, moved their legs, and landed on their butts.

I know I should be able to move my feet BACKWARD so that I can again slide them FORWARD, but so far I have managed to move forward – so far forward that all I can do is cling to the padded thing that’s supposed to support you as you lean forward. Did I say cling? What I meant to say is frantically clasp as if I were a baby monkey dangling from a vine above a pool of crocodiles.

The stress is definitely aerobic. Not so sure about the actual cross country skiing part.

Go me.


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Adoption and Health Records

Unfortunately, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the ER and various doctor offices with one of my kids. This particular child happens to have joined us through adoption. I have limited – and I do mean limited – information about the birth parents. There is no information on the health history of the genetic parents.

I’ve noticed that when we are asked questions at the doctor and ER, when we answer that we don’t know, it gets recorded as a No. Now there is a world of difference between, “I don’t know if there is a family history of a horrible disease” and “There is no family history of a horrible disease.” As the record is built for this particular child, it looks as if we know for sure that a number of unsavory options are decidedly remote possibilities.

I’ve also noticed that there is no box to check to indicate that my child joined us through adoption. Neither is there a box for children who are in foster care, those who were conceived via anonymous donors, etc. As a result, we are asked the same questions about health history and must explain it over and over and over again. That would be okay if it made a difference, but each new person starts with the health history and the same set of questions. Yes. We can state at the outset that we are an adoptive family but what if my child arrives without me and is unable to speak? What poor decisions are going to be made on the basis of these flawed medical records?

I think it’s time that medical forms and records embrace the a significant portion of the population does not know the answer to some very important medical questions. There should be a box for I don’t know on the forms that comprise the basis of our health records.

Anyone out there agree with me? Maybe we can get things rolling for a much-needed change.