Another Christmas Come and Gone...

(Did I really leave you all, my faithful readers, with a post about the bus - of all things - to look at throughout the entire week of Christmas? My apologies. It's been a busy week, but now I'm back and shall hopefully be much more frequent in my posting.)

Six days after leaving for Canada, we find ourselves back where we started. A few things have changed - we have the potential for being a bit more fit at our house using our new Wii and I'm sipping fantastic coffee from my new coffeemaker (undoubtedly a mistake, given that it is almost 11:30 at night and I have to work tomorrow, but I couldn't resist trying it out). There are a bunch of new toys for our kids to play with and it will take a day or so to get through all the mail.

We are also mindful that living here means that Christmas looks different for us than it has in the past. Our time with family and friends is shorter and more intense; we missed every one of our extended family gatherings as well as the church Christmas program. But the time we had was fulfilling and restful - thanks to all who made it such a great week for us.

Our major indication that "we're not in Kansas anymore" (or Winnipeg, as the case may be) was when we ended up in the local hospital emergency room. The Boy brought some cold germs with him to Canada that for anyone else would have simply meant a few sniffles and perhaps a low-grade fever. However, with his asthma, it turned into a full-blown attack and the medication we had brought was not sufficient, so we headed to the hospital to get him some help.

We've done that particular ER run more times than we would like, but we've never once thought of the cost; our thoughts were always and only with our son. This time, though, there was a cover charge. Upon entering, I rushed the struggling-to-breathe-crying boy to the doctor while The Husband stayed behind to register us and eventually run to the bank machine so he could pay the non-resident entrance fee.

Now we have excellent insurance and our being in Canada made really no difference in terms of out-of-pocket expenses. But the experience drove home to me how much I believe in universal healthcare. Does the healthcare system in Canada have its issues? Most definitely. Could it benefit from some level of privatization? Quite likely - I'd like to see more exploration of the idea.

But should a parent have to think twice about agreeing when the doctor says, "I'd like to take a chest x-ray just to rule out pneumonia?" No. Should mental computations calculating the growing expense of the medications offered take place when those medications are providing necessary relief? No. Should someone dread the thought of having a loved one admitted simply because of a low bank account? No.

Ah, but I digress. The Boy recovered as quickly as his cold left his system and fortunately we did not have to make a repeat visit. Our drive home was uneventful and we arrived to find that our neighbour had very kindly snow-blown our entire driveway as well as all our walkways.

Now off to bed with me - I have one day of work before the weekend and I suspect it will feel like ten Mondays combined tomorrow.