SLICE #26- In which I constantly have a sore tongue

The hardest part of being the parent of a young adult is that my tongue is sore all of the time.

That's because I am constantly biting it.

Take yesterday, for instance.

Son #1 has an ongoing medical condition.

He has to have a shot once every three months. If he doesn't have the shot, he ends up being hospitalized for an extended period of time.

On Friday, he went to get his shot. And they refused to give it to him. They said his Medicaid had lapsed.

He didn't know that it had lapsed. I didn't see any mail from Medicaid, so I didn't know either.

The situation has caused me to be pretty stressed this weekend. He doesn't like taking shots, and doesn't understand that the fact he doesn't have symptoms while he is medicated, is related directly to the medication. The fact is, that he has to have the shot and he has to have it really soon, otherwise, symptoms will start appearing.

Last night, I asked him about it.

"Do you need any help with the insurance stuff?"

"Nah, I got it. Well, maybe," he responded. "What time does that place open?"

I look it up on the internet. "It's open from 8-5. Are you going to go tomorrow?"

"Nah, I gotta talk to my boss, and see when I can go in late." Immediately, I go into worry mode, remembering that he just went in late on Friday, because that is the day he was supposed to have the shot. Maybe his boss will be unhappy that he is asking for time off again.

"Can you call Medicaid and straighten it out?" I ask.

"Nah, they will just leave me on the phone forever. My boss doesn't like us being on the phone," he says.

I swallow hard, and try to shake free of all of the worrying What if he loses his job? What if he can't straighten out his Medicaid? What if he doesn't get the shot? What if he ends up in the hospital again?

I bite down hard on my tongue. "OK, let me know if there is anything that I can do to help," I say, trying to keep my voice light and even.

Today it happened again. Son #2 is applying for a job delivering sandwiches. He has an interview at 3:00 today. I probably would not have even known, except he needed quarters for parking. Which I didn't have, and had to make a run to the store to get.

I have a million questions about this job. First and most importantly, I wonder why he, as a 22-year-old man, is looking for a job delivering sandwiches. It feels like he should be looking for something more permanent. But at least he would be working, which is better than what he is doing now.

My other questions have to do with this particular job. It's downtown. I know he wouldn't be excited about riding the bus, and I wonder whether he would have to pay for parking every day. Parking is at least $15 a day downtown, and I wonder whether the amount he would be making would justify taking the job. I wonder how much he would make.

And again, I bite my tongue, because he's a young adult and can make his own decisions.

My tongue is sore all of the time. I guess that's part of parenting a young adult, but it's really, really hard.