I hope this finds you in a good position with life, family, and your world in general. We are doing well and living the best life possible. No alarm clock, other than the hairy one that needs to go outside. No job, but money coming in thanks to social security, 401ks, and pensions. And basically, living life to its fullest.
Of note, since we have retired, we’ve spent so much more time in a doctor’s office than we ever did when we were working. We would literally go for years between doctor visits, now it seems we cannot go two weeks without a visit to a doctor of some sort. Yesterday was a prime example. Vicki has a hammer toe and was referred to a podiatrist. An awesome doctor, which I’ll describe here moment. Dr. Gonzalez was a wonderful doctor with a great bedside manner. Finding his office was not an easy google search and we ended up driving all over Brownsville trying to find him. After searching on Google that put us in the middle of busy thoroughfare, we managed to find his office and were late by only 5 minutes. After filling in the necessary first-time patient paperwork, we got back for the exam.
The doctor was very thorough with his exam and very confident with his diagnosis. He has done hundreds of the surgeries he has recommended, while being careful to listen to our needs and wants. He did ask to confirm everything with an X-ray. This is where his sense of humor stood out. He said that the x-ray clinic was right next to Stiletto’s, a gentleman club. He said you can’t miss it. So of course, I asked him if he had ever been and his response was no, but I hear the buffet is really good. After I picked myself up off the floor from laughing, I knew this guy was going to work out. So, it looks like Vicki will have to endure another toe surgery in about a week with a 2-month recovery. That just means we push our Texas escape to around the 15th of April.
Speaking of taxes, we filed our federal taxes today. They were much more challenging than they needed to be. Turbo tax had them done in less than an hour, but it being Groundhog Day, simple was not in the picture. Our first submission was rejected by the IRS due to the fact I did not include form 1095A. What’s a 1095A form you ask? Apparently when you have Obama care, which I did before qualifying for Medicare, you are paying a part of the premium with your tax refund. 1095A lets the government know how much to deduct from any refund you may get. It took a $1700 bite out of ours. Such is life in society that helps all. We still got a substantial refund, but to get there was a quest.
Since my Obamacare was through Texas Bluecross-Blueshield, I had to get the form from them. After spending an hour on the phone with 5 different transfers and 2 disconnects, I finally had the form in hand. I did have to listen to a 30-minute sales pitch from the pushiest agent on the planet. When I repeatedly told her all I needed was the form, I finally gave it to her persistence and while she spoke of insurance plans, I played tetris. Not very nice, but at least I finally got the information from the 1095A. Some salesman think once your on the phone with them, you’ll listen. Not so much in today’s modern technology.
The ear is looking better each day and I love telling people who ask about it that I went two rounds with Mike Tyson before I won on a TKO as be bit my ear. Will be following up with the dermatologist on Monday. (See, another trip to the doctor’s office.)
Can’t remember if I told everyone, but my grandson Dominic is getting married in August 2025. Jessica is an absolutely wonderful young lady and two of them have been together since high school. Will be driving up to Washington for that happy event.
As mentioned earlier, we are going to be heading out on the road, mid April. We’ve mapped out our first 1000 miles as we’ll add on as we get down the road we’ll route our next 1000 and so on. We’re targeting Maine and then the east coast with an eventual return to Texas mid October. If you are anywhere east of the Mississippi and you have space or wouldn’t mind us dropping in, pop a comment or PM us.
This is a bit long so will close until next time. Guess what? We’re still loving retirement!
