Free Parking

I know. It's weird.

Every time we go to the doctor, we have a $15 co-pay. On top of that, there is always a $3 parking fee (that's with validation). And the parking attendant only takes cash.

So once, twice or three times a week, we have to dig out our wallets and scrounge for the $3 in assorted bills and change. You can get a monthly pass for $30 but it only applies to one parking structure at one end of the hospital campus and ends up being about $2-5 more than if we just pony up the full fare each time.

But it's maddening. It feels like you are being driven to bankruptcy $3 at a time . . .

The wife (who is a little more outspoken about these things) expressed her frustration to the pediatrician's office one morning a couple of weeks ago and the nurse exclaimed, "I can't believe you don't have a placard!"

Placard? What placard? No one said anything about a placard . . .

The nurse grabbed a form, had the doc scribble some notes on the back and she handed it to the wife. It was an application for a handicapped placard (see above) . . . . which . . . well . . . huh . . .

"I don't see how this helps us," I said to the wife . . . "we don't need to park closer to the doors at the grocery store . . . we need to not be paying $3 for parking at the hospital every time we go there . . . and furthermore, there is no reason we cannot park in a normal space and I cannot imagine myself ever using a handicapped stall . . ."

We both agreed that the nurse had misunderstood and we decided to toss the application. Even if we could qualify, we didn't need it and . . . more importantly . . . didn't want it . . .

When we were at the hospital for surgery last week, it occurred to me that maybe the nurse hadn't misunderstood at all, maybe we were the ones who had misunderstood . . . . We got the pediatrician's office on the phone to schedule an appointment and I asked the nurse . . . "Now, this handicapped parking pass . . . . if we have one of those, do we need to pay for parking when we come to the hospital?"

The nurse explained that not only would we be able to park for free at Children's Hospital but that we could park for free at every hospital and in every publicly owned parking space in the state of California . . . as in never feed a parking meter again . . . .

I sheepishly asked if she would mind giving us another application as I had thrown our first one in the trash . . . . We picked up the new form, filled it out, and it fell to the wife to visit the DMV (department of motor vehicles) to do what needed to be done.

So with mixed emotions about it all, the wife approached the desk at the DMV and handed over the paperwork. "Are you Annabelle?" the attendant asked . . . "No," the wife replied, "I am her mom . . ." Which is just weird on so many levels . . .

First of all, it is one of the only times Holly has used the phrase "I am her mom" when dealing with bureaucracy outside of the hospital - so there is a minor milestone there . . . but stranger still was the feeling that the attendant and the wife were using the same words to communicate totally different things.

It feels like the attendant was saying, "So you are the mother of a handicapped child in a wheelchair . . ." while the wife was saying, "We are all just fine, thank you. My little girl is a total rock-star and we don't even need this gall-darned thing except that we are sick and tired of paying for parking at the hospital."

I am probably reading too much into it but when you hold that placard in your hand for the first time as a parent of an extraordinary child it makes the mind reel . . .

So now the "drawing of the line" begins . . . we most certainly WILL NOT be paying for parking at the hospital anymore . . . . and am pretty sure I am not going to be feeding any parking meters so long as the wee one is with me . . . . but actually parking in the blue stalls? . . . . uuuhhhh . . . probably not . . . .

. . . .unless of course all the other spaces are taken . . . .

. . . . or it is raining . . .

. . . or I am tired . . . .

. . . or in a hurry . . . . or . . . .

Just kidding about that last part, of course . . . . I think . . . .

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. - 1st Corinthians 10:13