Pity party of one

So I'm sitting here paying bills and getting angry at all the medical expenses we've already incurred this year, and it's only March! I know that we are so incredibly lucky and blessed that we, and our kids, are relatively healthy, and yet, for relatively healthy people,  it's so frustrating to see how much we end up shelling out each month! Zoe sees a physical therapist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, opthamologist, and an endocrinologist, and so we get bills not only from the doctors, but from the facilities/hospitals, plus bills for all the tests she has. Maddie will be seeing her cardiologist soon, and may be having heart surgery this spring. Plus there are all the normal well-child checkups as well as sick kid visits/ear infections and prescriptions. Dave and I have had a couple small things crop up but nothing serious. Ellie had "failed" her exam with her pediatrician at her 5 year checkup and thus had to get an eye exam from an optometrist, which she passed with perfect vision. At her dentist appt yesterday, we were told she has two extra teeth between her baby and adult top front teeth that will have to be removed by an oral surgeon sometime in the next year or so. Really? Apparently it's not uncommon, but I've never heard of that. And so, of course, that would happen in our family as well.

And yet, I look at the news and see the devastation in Japan, or I see some of the other children with significant, lifelong challenges when we take Zoe to PT, or I hear about a family who is hoping to get their infant daughter a lung transpant before it's too late, and know that I have absolutely nothing to complain about. We have four bright, beautiful kids, a safe home, and more than we probably deserve. So, now that I got that off my chest, my pity party is over. Back to reality.