Only Money

We learned years and years ago that there are going to be spells where truly everything happens at once. The funny thing is that when this spell occurs, we immediately recognize it, but seldom do we reflect, "Gosh, it's been a long time since anything went wrong!"

I'm in one of those spells at present, where every time I turn around something is costing me a bundle.

Got my eyes checked and my prescription is no longer working. So last week I ordered new GLA$$ES.

Right before I went away, I detected a problem with a tooth. My dentist worked on it for a while, put in a temporary repair and referred me on to a $pecialist.

Saw the $pecialist and now a major dental event is scheduled for New Year's Eve morning. Good thing we aren't real carousers.

After the cruise, when Bonnie and I were just arriving at the airport, I realized I'd left my mini iPad aboard the ship. I filed the necessary reports and with Google's help, was able to lock the iPad remotely so that no one could get into it. It's two days short of two weeks since then, and my device hasn't been turned in.  So this morning I was off to the Apple $tore for a replacement.

All of this in December, no le$$.

There's one other thing -- an ad on Facebook caught my attention and without researching the company I placed an order. That was two weeks ago and I never received a confirmation email. When I go to the site, they demand my order number (ostensibly found in the confirmation email). They don't answer their phone or respond to emails. I've opened a dispute with PayPal and am confident I'll get my money back in time. But still. Of course I wish I'd thought to investigate the company before placing the order. I did it this morning and what I found here would have certainly deterred me from placing that order. Grumble, grumble.

But I learned something from an old friend years ago when one of these spells struck. She would listen, and nod, and say, "But it's not cancer. And nobody died."

And that's as true today as it was back then. It's fun setting up the replacement iPad. I'm anticipating less eyestrain when the new specs come in. And I can't wait to start chewing on both sides again. It's only money. It's not cancer. And nobody died.