Why the explanation? We had to take my son to the hospital this morning. Yesterday I noticed his ear was red and swollen. This morning it still looked really bad. Even though he said it didn't hurt "too much," I decided it needed looked at.
We gathered his insurance card and walked the couple blocks to the local hospital. Once there, they explained that his visit would probably be free, but we would need to pay a facility fee. The facility fee is good for three months, but if he goes there again in the next three months, the clock restarts. We sat for about 20 minutes until they called our number and told us to go upstairs. At the upstairs desk, they gave us some forms to fill out and a thermometer. My husband filled out the forms and I took his temperature. Then we were instructed to go to door number 47. We walked down the hall and sat on the bench outside the assigned door. After about 5 minutes, they told us to go inside where a doctor and nurse were waiting. They examined my son and decided that it was most likely a spider bite. "Most likely" because they couldn't find the puncture marks. They gave him a prescription and sent us back downstairs to pay.
We then went to a machine where we inserted a ID card that they had given to us when we first arrived. It told us to pay ¥2,150 ($19) to cover the facility fee. Once we paid, we went up to the desk and they gave us our son's prescription. My husband took the prescription to the pharmacy where they filled it for free. Yep, didn't pay a thing. Thank you child-centric healthcare! Kids are free because the government pays for all their basic healthcare needs.
My son's ear looks a lot better already. It isn't nearly as red and swollen as it was. Luckily, he isn't touching it. So, it should clear up in no time.
We decided to wander through the park as we walked home and walked over to the city pool. We checked out the facilities and signed my son up for swimming lessons. Finally, we have a class planned for him. I'm really looking forward to building some sort of schedule for him that involves a variety of activities. Normally, I wouldn't feel this way, but I like to have a bit of structure to my week. Not too much, but some is a good thing.
We continued our walk and stumbled upon a farm stand that was selling broccoli. The sign said it was selling other things as well, but they only had broccoli left. You paid via the honor system. I plan to visit frequently, as it is right around the corner. Plus, one of the items on the sign was daikon, which this area is known for. I'd love to enjoy some locally grown daikon!
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| Carrots and Daikon growing right behind the stand. |
The grocery store was next on our list. We just wanted to pick up a few items from the deli to eat with the rice we were cooking at home. They had huge fried chicken pieces. One was big enough to feed the three of us! We had bought other things as well, and ended up eating everything else for dinner.
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| This is a 10' plate! |
The rest of the day was spent organizing the kitchen (which is still a work in progress). I boxed up one box of stuff to see if I can live without these items, but they are there in case I need them. We bought some drawer organizers and I've put them to use. I should be sort of done tomorrow. It will take a bit of time to decide if I like where things are. I finally put things into the floor storage - dry goods that are not open, like pasta, beans, cereal, maple syrup, and the like. We still have one drawer that is kind of a weird size to me that I haven't figured out how to best use. I have a couple ideas though...
Getting settled will take time. I am trying to be patient with it. But some of us are better patients than others in this household. I've never been particularly known for my patience.
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