I’ve been exploring expectations today, and looking at some of mine which are realistic, and some which are unrealistic.

Sometimes I don’t recognize my expectations as expectations. Because the phoebes and the scrub jays fledged a short distance at a time, I thought the bluebirds might peek out of the nest cavity for a day or two, and then flutter down a little way. Kathleen said no, they’ll just fly straight out. Some research seemed to confirm that, saying “the first flight is awkward, in a straight line with nonstop wingbeats… from 10 to 55 yards,” and that a parent usually accompanies the fledgling and remembers where it perches. But I also read that sometimes they can’t fly that far, or drop straight to the ground if they’re weak. I stirred together what I read, what Kathleen said, and what I’d seen of other species in real life or on nest cams, and created a safe landing zone with various perches across the patio outward from the nest. Then I waited and watched.

I selectively remembered bits of information to form an expectation of how and when they’d fledge, and arranged my days to be sure I wouldn’t miss it. In fact, it started without my recognizing it. I missed a couple of hours yesterday and most of today, but I think I actually saw one first flight yesterday, and thought it was one of the parents. When I came home from an appointment this afternoon, I may have caught another one out the corner of my eye while I was on a phone call. But I still dwelt in my expectation of what it would look like, and it wasn’t until I noticed a fluttering bird in a treetop with the male bluebird that the truth dawned on me. My expectation of how the bluebirds would fledge was sketchy and unrealistic.

Meanwhile, the scrub jay babies are learning to fill up at the feeder, play in the water bowl, and peck at grasshoppers. And the house finch chicklets are chasing their parents around through the trees and onto the feeder begging. It’s very busy in the yarden.

As far as my healing hip, I’ve kept pretty realistic expectations for the most part. After nine months, I got complacent and over-exerted getting up from a tadpole pedicure last week, and have been limping ever since. I finally called the doctor and they wanted me to come in today. I realistically expected that I’d get a competent evaluation. It’s realistic for an American to expect quality, affordable healthcare, and for a senior citizen such as myself to expect Medicare to pay for most of it. But sadly, that expectation is gonna have to change if the regime gets its budget bill passed.

The One Big Bad Bill delivers nothing but grift to billionaires and corporations and misery and privation to regular Americans. Yes, I’m exaggerating, but not much. I am sure there are some provisions which will benefit some subgroups of American citizens, but most of us will lose bigly. Ag experts say the bill has the worst farm policy they’ve ever seen; despite claims it will reduce the federal deficit it will increase it by trillions; national parks and forests, wilderness areas, and pristine watersheds are among the millions of acres of OUR PUBLIC LANDS, which we as Americans own collectively for the common good, that are slated to be sold to the highest bidder for privatization, logging, development, raping and pillaging. Imagine drill rigs smack in the center of Yellowstone. Countless miles of critical habitat and wild lives will be destroyed as well. Essential ecological balances will be tripped and climate chaos will explode exponentially. I’m not really exaggerating about this part.

And millions of Americans will lose Medicaid with billions of dollars and hundreds of direct and indirect benefits on the chopping block. Older Americans will see Medicare benefits dribble away and costs rise from a hidden provision that will require cuts to Medicare over the next decade. Private insurance premiums will skyrocket. And this brings me to Colorado District 3 and our so-called representative Congressman Jeff Hurd. His was arguably the swing vote that pushed this bill through the House initially, after he promised his constituents that he would not vote to cut Medicaid.

His district has the largest number of Medicaid recipients in the state. You can look it up. I’m sick of thinking about his betrayal. If you live in CD3, this article is a must read to understand why you might lose your rural hospital – and why I and my community are flooding Rep. Hurd’s offices with phone calls insisting that he vote against the Big Bad Bill when it comes back to the House after the Senate approves it, in time to be passed by July 4. That’s next Friday. His phone number is 202-225-4676.

If you live in rural America, or if you get Medicaid benefits through your state health department, or if you are enrolled in Medicare, or get ACA subsidized health insurance, you need to understand what’s at stake here, and let your senators and house reps know how you feel about the prospect of their gutting your healthcare. You can use the 5 Calls app to easily identify and call your representatives. 5 Calls provides a short script for each of a number of up-to-the-minute issues to choose from. These calls matter. Save our healthcare, save our rural hospitals, save our national parks, save our democracy, save our sanity. Is it realistic to expect my words to motivate you to pay attention and start making calls? I don’t know. Is it realistic to expect our representatives to pay attention to our concerns? I’m not sure but I think so. Is it realistic to expect our elected officials to defend our rights if we stick our heads in the sand and say and do nothing? Absolutely not. We have very little time left to try to influence our Senators and Representatives before a final vote on this catastrophic bill. Make some calls.