Today was a normal Tuesday in most aspects. I got up. I made coffee. I went to work. I had small group.

It was different in two ways though.

Before work, I had a medical appointment with a specialist whose office was on the west side, in a direction opposite from where I work when leaving my home. Since the visit was a late morning one, I missed an hour and some of work time to go to it. Since we had to change insurance plans at work due to globally increased rates that were a consequence of the installment of the Affordable Care Act, my copay was doubled to make this visit. Once in the office, after filling out new client paperwork that took me 20 minutes and was a duplicate of the same forms I’ve had to fill out at other offices several times this year due to the said insurance provider change that forced me to go to new medical providers, I was finally called in to see the new doc, to whom I explained some recent experiences, and who, after a 4 minute description, told me I would need several followup tests in later appointments. And my appointment was done. Lost wages, increased office visit costs, increased insurance premiums, increased copays, an unbeneficial visit that gets billed, and I am told I needed to go to another appointment. That was not affordable care. That could have been completed in a phone call. Frustrating.

The other significant event of the day was meeting with my small group, with the knowledge it would be one of our member’s last visits. Bob, the tall older gent on the left in the picture below, came to us probably 6 months ago, and once he joined us, he has been a source of wisdom and encouragement to group members. With some changes in his life recently, he felt it was time to move on. I am happy for him, starting a new chapter in his life, but it is hard when he’s been part of that circle you’ve been growing and going through life with over the last few years. His departure is a reminder that life is always on the move, and in flux, and to find a circle of friends you have regular time with, and with whom you can share your heart and hopes, is relatively challenging. I’ve been fortunate to find myself in a group of such humble, service-minded friends. Many in our group have been together for the last one-and-a-half to two years. That consistent fellowship has been good for my homebody heart.

Happy trails, Bob. Good thing there is Skype.

Oh, and Ryan Braun hit three home runs for the Brewers today. In one game. That doesn’t happen too often either.

Still- all in all, it was a pretty good day.