Because Dim is in the military, there is quite a bit of his income that is non taxable. Such as our housing and food allowance and his uniform allowance. So when we file taxes, on paper it looks like we make a lot less than we actually do. Because of this we qualify for WIC. WIC is a government program that pays for baby formula and food for children and breastfeeding mothers.
Dim's superiors kept stressing to him that it would save us a lot of money and we should sign up. I'm what one would call proud. Dim calls it stubborn but I digress. I didn't want to do this. We aren't struggling by any means to put food on the table. I felt like we would be taking advantage of the system if we signed up. Dim pointed out that there is no limit on how much they can give out and if anything we're making sure the system gets used so the government will give more money to the program. I couldn't argue with that. I would hate for the program to lose money and not be able to help people that really need it.
So last week we went into our local state clinic to sign up. I was not ready for what I saw when we opened the door. As soon as we walked in a little boy ran out with his mother not far behind chasing him. It was a fucking zoo. There were children EVERYWHERE. Dim and I grabbed two seats in the back and filled out some paperwork. Now this next part may make me sound like a snob, but it's not my intention at all. It took us two hours to go through the whole process of paperwork and Boomba and I getting our blood tested and a little meeting with a nutritionist and then some more paperwork. I had a lot of time to do one of my favorite activities. People watch. I listened in on conversations and imagined what everyone's stories were. People always marvel at my patience. Trust me I'm not patient. I'm just being too nosy to notice that it's taking sixty seven fucking hours to get though whatever I'm trying to do.
I noticed that the woman next to me had a fourteen month old daughter and she was still in an infant carrier car seat. I felt bad that she didn't have enough money to make sure her child was safe. Then I noticed all of her jewelry and that her nails were done. I overheard her talking about her son's dad buying her all kinds of expensive gifts. Behind the help desk there was a sign that talked about free car seats to those who needed them. I know she wasn't taking advantage of that since I heard her say she was just getting her daughter shots that day. That lady kind of pissed me off.
There was another woman who had the hardest time keeping her two young children from running around the waiting room. Her son kept hitting other kids and when the mother would see, she would smack him. Gee, I wonder where he learned how to hit?
Another woman had her thirteen month old and her two month old children sitting in her lap. At one point the two month old was asleep on his mother's chest and the thirteen month old was lying across her mother's lap. The oldest was moving her leg and her mother smacked her behind and told her to stop moving because she would wake her brother. The girl started to cry. Loud. Did the mom think that the crying wouldn't wake her newborn?
After awhile the lady with the car seat issues and the lady with the newborn and toddler struck up a conversation with me. They were nice women. The car seat lady asked me if I had seen the "Mexican family." How could I have not? They had five children and they were running around everywhere playing with toys that belonged to other kids and eating snacks that parents' were trying to give to their children. Car seat lady explained that those children had lice. I asked her how she knew and she said she saw the mother picking them out of the oldest child's head. My head began to itch immediately. I'm so happy that I didn't have any toys they were interested in and that I wasn't doling out snacks. Dim thinks that Car Seat Lady was mistaken since he never saw any evidence of kids with lice. Still. I'm thankful they didn't come near me.
After all that hoopla we had a meeting with a nutritionist. Because I'm breastfeeding I get compensated for my food. He asked me what I had eaten the day before. I had mentioned that I had a granola bar for a snack and he scoffed and said, "candy." When I explained that it was organic and there was no sugar in it and mentioned how it had almonds and flaxseed, he scoffed again and said. "Ok, organic candy." Condescending fucktard. If he's a nutritionist then he should know there are such products out there. I didn't like that guy. I was asked how much formula Boomba went through a month. Boomba is nine months old and since he's been born, he's gone through three cans. So I had no answer. I told him one can a month would be plenty. We got vouchers for eight cans a month. The vouchers come in four can quantities. We could just get one can and use a four can voucher, but we got all four cans. I'll find someone to give them to.
Along with the formula vouchers we got vouchers for baby cereal and juice. My vouchers give me five gallons of milk a month, two boxes of cereal, so many ounces of cheese, four bottles of juice and a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember. When we cashed the vouchers in, including the formula, the total was almost hundred dollars. As great as it was to have all that food for free, I still feel icky about it. Even more so when I think about our cable/internet bill and know that we spend more on that then what the people in that clinic spend on food. I think I'm done with the government cheese.