Another day awaits,and we are still in limbo

Good morning journal,the time is now 10:06am,I have been awake since 8:45am,having slept for almost eleven hours,waking only once in that time.Well,what news to share today?;two days ago,I received a letter from the benefit agency informing me that I may qualify for more money,but I had to claim an income based employment support allowance.Now,if you remember,I had already had a text from the benefit people telling me I had already been assessed,and awarded, the support group allowance. Further to that text,I had spoken on the telephone to a very nice young lady called Tina,who had confirmed that I had been awarded said allowance on the 15th of March;so,being slightly puzzled by this new letter,I again called the benefit agency.After a period of time listening to some very nice classical music with intermittent messages telling me that all of their operators were busy,I was finally put through to a very polite lady called Fionnuala,an Irish girl's name pronounced FinOOla,meaning fair shoulders,being a Celt myself,I know these things,(with a sneaky peek on Google I do anyway). I explained the situation,and she checked for me,then she confirmed what the lovely Tina had told me,I had indeed been awarded the extra allowance from March 15th.I said,"so why have I been sent this letter?",her reply was honest,"I don't know",she said;fair enough I thought,"so what do I do with it?",I asked;"I don't know",said Fionnuala,"you have already been awarded the extra benefit,perhaps it was sent by mistake?".I then asked,"so do I fill in the form that came with it and send it back?",Fionnuala pondered this for a moment then replied,"I wouldn't do anything with it right now,but keep it just in case".Okayyy,......"so when will I hear of my award in writing?",I asked,rapidly losing the will to live,and for some reason,wondering just how much my beard had grown since my conversation with Fionnuala had started.Again,there was a moment of silence,then she said,"you should have heard by now,but with the computer sending out the letter you received this morning,I don't want them freezing your benefit until they get it back".I took the deepest breath I could,which wasn't that deep really considering my COPD,then I said,"you've just told me not to do anything with it,now your telling me they could freeze my benefits,which is it?".Fionnuala had a little think again,then said,"do nothing for now,I'll speak to my supervisors and get them to call you back",I thanked her and hung up.I waited by the telephone all day,needless to say,the promised call never came;however,the next morning,that would be yesterday,I received a letter in the mail in an official looking brown envelope,on opening it,I discovered that,according to THIS letter,I had been awarded the extra benefit due to me being incapable of any type of work at present.What about March 15th? I hear you ask,yes,what about March 15th?,nothing,zip,nada,.....no mention of any date in March whatsoever.Instead,the letter informed me that as from April 24th,my new rate of benefit entitlement will increase from seventy one pounds and seventy pence per week,to one hundred and six pounds fifty pence per week,an increase of around thirty five pounds per week.Now,grateful as I am,where does March 15th come in?,both of my conversations on the telephone came up with the same date that my award had been granted,and both ladies had said that according to the date of the award,and the date of my conversations with them,I should be receiving some back payment owing to me,the letter I received on Friday made no mention of any back payment,just that the new rate will begin on April 24th.I have decided that I am not going to rock any authoritarian boats,I am just hugely grateful that there will be a few extra pennies coming in every week;oh,and the letter also informed me that because of my illness,I qualify for the Christmas bonus cold weather payment,this will be paid in the first week of December,are you ready?,the government will pay me an additional ten pounds,just for that week,to heat my home;hey,it's something,and I am grateful.We are now in a sort of limbo,waiting for April 24th to arrive,it's a bit like waiting for Christmas when you were a child,your excited,but it seems such a long way off,know what I mean?. Until then,my wife and I make do as much as we can,she continues to perform minor miracles in the kitchen with leftovers,and,if all else fails,we still have the list of soup kitchens to fall back on.Last night for dinner we had home made enchiladas,even the tortilla wraps were made from scratch by my wife,they were filled with strips of leftover pork,cheese,and refried beans,with an enchilada sauce dreamed up by my wife.They were both delicious and filling,and we thanked our Father in heaven,as we always do,for the banquet He continues,somehow,to put on our table.It has occurred to me over the past few weeks,that due to my present incapacity,there has not,nor will there be,any money for the little extras that we used to enjoy when I was working;but somehow,we have eaten every night.It may be simple fare made from leftovers,but we have eaten,and our faith in our Creator remains undaunted,and we continue to look to Him for everything,and thus far,He has never let us down,thank you Father,we are truly grateful.April 24th will get here when it gets here,until then,we move forward,albeit slowly and no doubt with a few setbacks on the way,but we've come this far with very little, and sometimes virtually nothing,we can go on a little longer.In my mind,even though I have my award in writing now,there is a little bit of uneasiness in my soul,I won't believe I am actually going to receive the extra benefit until it appears in our bank account,but all we can do now is wait.So journal,I'm done for now,until next time,may the Good Lord strengthen and uplift us in the days ahead;peace be within us,and may the leftovers in our freezer continue to last.