Here We Go!

I'm so jazzed that I figured out how to do this (patting myself on the back)!


I guess I'll start towards the end of the beginning.
I fell in love for the first time when I was 15, a few months before the youngest of my six siblings was born. I'm the oldest, and probably the boldest. I married my first love 20 years after we met, and we've been married for 19 years. We have five kids. Our oldest daughter is grown and gone, our oldest son is a junior at Northwestern University; our three youngest are on the autism spectrum, and all are in high school. In fact, our youngest is now 15 years old. I've mostly been a homemaker throughout our marriage. I've done volunteer work for the Minneapolis Public Schools, the State of Minnesota, and Children's Hospitals and Clinics. I've also produced and directed a documentary about raising children with disabilities called "Through Our Eyes." 


I have an issue that's really bugging me today, so here goes. I have a prescription for pain medication, and when I opened the last refill bottle, something didn't look right. The prescription is for 60 pills, but there were only 50 in the bottle. I counted twice, and my husband counted twice, and we came up with 50 every time. I go back to the pharmacy, but the person behind the counter is the pharmacist who filled the prescription. She listens to me, goes back and grabs a big bottle of I don't know what, counts the pills, and tells me their numbers match up. Well of course they do, because you took out 60 pills like you were supposed to. But you only gave me 50. She denies it, and I can't prove it. I've been going to this pharmacy for 20 years, dealing with the same two pharmacists, one of which recently went into semi-retirement. They also recently remodeled, and hired two new pharmacists. And that is where the problem lies. Because, actually, I thought one of our refills looked a little light before, but it was a crazy busy day, and I just let it go. I now either have to count every pill at the counter, or transfer to another pharmacy. It really saddens me to end this 20 year relationship, but I don't trust this woman anymore. I'll talk to the other, long-time pharmacist to explain why my family is leaving, and to tell them to watch what's going on. I know they're human, and make mistakes, but this wasn't a mistake. And there's nothing I can do about it, except walk away. And hope that the same thing doesn't happen at the next place. It comes down to the eternal question: stay with the devil you know, or switch to the devil you don't?