This annual ritual of celebrating the holiday season is getting boring to me, even tho I too like the eating of Thanksgiving much,
the over months long search 4 appropriate gifts 4 our nearest and dearest family & friends, and then finally ringing in a New Year w parties, drinking, dancing, maybe a feast, and generally merry making w a kiss at midnight, if we have a partner so inclined to be at our side. A proportion of couples will go further than a kiss at midnight, trying to make a baby for the New Year. But as the birth rate has fallen precipitously in these United States of America, and concomitantly the immigration rate, legal that is, has also dropped massively, because of politics, we have an aging population that is increasingly drawing benefit payments from Social Security, in large numbers, because of the aging Baby Boomer population, without a correspondingly high rise in the younger workers we need to offset those monthly payments.
Add in a larger cohort of people now who r also permanently disabled, who managed to qualify for Social Security Disability, which has a high bar to entry, and must present copious medical evidence of why u cannot do substantive work anymore, in the occupation(s) u have done before. Psychiatric diagnoses also count in this evaluation as well. If u r a nut job and can prove it to a judge, w legal representation, u may get your monthly check, frequently paid out in a huge lump sum initially, because it often takes years to collect your 1st payment, after filing and being refused, which is customary for about 96% of all eventual recipients.
We cannot have people faking their disabilities, and they must be sufficiently severe in number and severity, such that the former occupation is no longer feasible as a way to make a living for the person so afflicted. U need stacks of medical records to convince them that u can no longer do that job anymore, or even any reasonable accommodation thereof. I am not the only person I know who eventually secured the SSD (Disability) ruling, back in May 2018, it began for me, but dated back to December 2014 actually, to date when my disability was legally determined to begin. So my wait was actually 4 years long to get that approval, as u go further back and can only file when u have not worked for 6 months long, due to the alleged disability. When I was approved, they owed me in excess of $38,000 in back payments, for those almost 4 years wait. Medicare began 4 me immediately upon approval also, and I took all that it offered me, including Part D, prescription drug coverage, and a plan by AARP, American Association of Retired Persons, which covers deductibles and co-insurance payments not covered by original Medicare. U still have to pay over and above these amounts tho, in co-pays, and I keep my receipts annually, to add up in the New Year, for my accountant.
Every year feels like rituals repeated, but it’s ok. We do change over time also. Even if we have predictable bowel habits! I can guarantee u what approximate time it takes me to go to the lavatory every single morning of my life, and am envied for my regularity! Such r the considerations of advancing age…when do u move your bowels?! How often? Is it a full movement? My Yiddish language comes in mind, screaming “Oy vey!” (Which means, roughly, do u have to detail this 4 me?! I don’t want to know!) I do my “Oy veys” a lot these days, therefore, as u might imagine, being so expressive, and so succinct, at the same time. I like that. I acknowledge my Jewish cultural upbringing as a rich one, varied, and asserting itself even more forcefully as I age, even while I pay my homage to my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. I see no contradiction in being both Christian and Jewish, actually, but I am unlike others: I call myself hybrid, much as Jesus Himself was, in this life He led in the flesh once upon a time. I also cite karma often to my friends, that which u do to others or 4 them, is coming back 2 u, often multiples of your acts of harm or kindness. I firmly believe that u know men and women by the fruits of their acts, as it says in the Bible.
I have been exceedingly blessed in this life, and recognize it daily, gratefully, doing my utmost to pay it forward to others, because what did I do to deserve the Lord’s favor? I do not know how I was this blessed, but I resolve to do good for my fellow man, in general, like w donations for natural disasters, support for worthy, vetted charities, educational institutions, health care organizations, social services orgs, fighting hunger, etc. I also help support my dear friends, whom I consider my actual family these days. I am particularly proud of having gotten two friends out of life & health threatening emotional and physical abuse situations, by providing funds that enabled them to establish separate living quarters from their abusers. This is life changing stuff, that makes it better for them and their children as well, who were also suffering.
When I will have to account for my life acts before my Final Judgment, I will acknowledge my mistakes and omissions, but also point to those things that changed lives for the better. Even when the situations continue w the abusers, in some fashion, at least it is better to have a place of solace, away from that man who caused harm, a place of refuge, of peace and quiet. A time and place to regroup. No more beatings, emotional torture that leads to serious physical illness/maladies, that over time will lead to life threatening conditions like cancer. One cannot keep being emotionally tortured without it affecting one’s health, permanently. And that is especially true when one is in one’s 50’s. It is a vulnerable life stage, that decade. I have also done other things too: provided for people’s homes, upgrading them, repairs, providing funds for cars, that were necessary to get around in certain types of towns, because mass transit is not functional 4 them. And the vacations, events like concerts to hot performers, Broadway and West End shows, countless gourmet meals, spa services, because that’s good 4 u too, gifts…and paying for pet care, medical expenses, home repairs, a whole plethora of support, that comes from the heart.
The good u do 4 others is coming back 2 u too, at least tenfold, in my experience. But beware also the ides of March, which is to not malign March, but alas, recall that karma is also a bitch to those who do ill to others. Lots of criminals and evildoers forget that. But Rod Serling knew it well: another cherished ritual each New Year is watching some of The Twilight Zone, which aired around 1960, and went on for many years that decade. An evil man will reap what he has sowed, and that goes for women too.


