Coming Down the Mountain

Dear Mom and Dad, 

I started off the day yesterday literally on top of a mountain. The top of Pike's Peak afforded me a view beyond the Continental Divide in the West and all the way to Kansas in the east. It was both thrilling and inspiring. I think it was the highest elevation I had ever reached. 

As you can imagine, descending the mountain (by Cog Railway) and then beginning a discussion about health insurance really did bring me back to earth. Mom's concerns are valid. Her dogged efforts to get Jenna and I health insurance, I believe, revealed to me how little I have wanted to confront this issue myself. Which is partly an explanation for why I grew so frustrated on the phone. Due primarily to Mom's perseverance, it looks as if we will have health coverage for the coming year. I don't believe cost was every really the ultimate cause for my objections to this plan. (After all, Jenna and I have enough saved up to afford it. And we will be making money in India.) I think it was more my desire to handle things on my own and my self-centered belief that I could manage these issues without help. 

Mom apologized yesterday for being so "pushy" about this. But I should have been the one to apologize: for not accepting the help that was being freely offered to me. I'm still your son, and I will always will be. And Jenna will soon be your daughter. It is your right to want to care for us and look out for us as we start our lives together. 

Love,

Your Son

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Dear Mom and Dad, 

You will be glad to know that I called Esurance yesterday and got a quote. Jenna and I are now waiting for approval. We picked a plan that has a $1,000 deductible and an $80 premium. And it covers us for just the month of August. In fact, the coverage ends Aug. 31. Hopefully we will get approved. The man at Esurance said it usually takes between 24 and 72 hours. 

We bought backpacks yesterday for our trip. We went running. And we watched Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the World Cup semifinal. After the game Andres texted me, joking that his "grandmother country" had beaten my "grandmother country". 

Jenna and I spied some new engagement photos on Jenna's old roommate's Facebook page (the one whose wedding we're going to Saturday). We have found that sometime we have to tamp down our feelings of envy for other people's weddings--the thing they have and what they are doing. I guess as a soon-to-be-married couple we are experiencing the "keeping up with the Joneses" syndrome for the first time. I mean, you have actually lived next to the Joneses for more than 20 years. How do you not try to keep up with them? :) 

Love, 

Your Son 

On Insurance and Hail Damage

Dear Mom and Dad,

It seems insurance has been very much on my mind lately. Of course, there is the ongoing anxiety of getting health insurance after my employer-sponsored plan runs out at the end of this month. Then, there is the stress of getting some kind of coverage (any kind!) for when Jenna and I go to India. And now, hail...

Another hailstorm rolled through Colorado Springs last night and added to the pings that were already in my car from the bigger storm we had here on the 4th. This hail comes as both a blessing and a curse. Of course, a curse because it just adds another thing on my To-Do list before I leave. But a blessing, for now I have more impetus to get that scrape on the side of my car fixed. 

You two have been very helpful on the phone. And Mom, I greatly appreciate you working on our behalf to check into places that sell individual insurance. I guess sometimes I don't express my appreciation in words. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. 

Love,

Your Son