Real World Mom

Things on the job front seem to finally be going my way!

Right after I started the dreaded retail job, I was offered another one that I had interviewed for about a month prior.  It’s a temporary, part-time receptionist position at a nursing/rehabilitation home.  I accepted it, and planned to work both jobs, at least for the summer.

My orientation for both employers took place last week.  The retail gig continued to be seriously disorganized (it took several phone calls from me to them to find out when I was supposed to go in, and they still didn’t even have my employee number), while the receptionist role was looking better and better.

The nursing home that I am working for is part of a HUGE health care network, including hospitals, mental health facilities, etc.  Since I’m majoring in social work, I decided that I would be much better off focusing on the nursing home position than the retail job that I didn’t want anyway.

I’ve worked two days at the nursing home so far, and I really like it!  My supervisor and my co-workers are extremely nice people, and I feel at home already.

I’m hoping that it will become a permanent position (I was hired to cover for someone who is out on disability), but, even if this particular position doesn’t, it’s very possible I could get something else, either in that facility, or one of the many others.  Possibilities are a good thing!

(In no particular order.)

1-  My kids are healthy

2-  The incredible man I share my life with

3-  Our fur (and feather) babies:  Madison, Smokey, Murphy, O’Brian, and BlackJack

4-  Our home

5-  Friends I love

6-  The opportunity to go to school

7-  My snappy laptop

8-  A hot cup of coffee

9-  My health (such as it is, it could be much worse!)

10-  It’s not raining at the moment

What are you grateful for today?

Last night I started my new job (part-time retail–ugh).  It got off to a somewhat rough start, because no one who was there knew *I* was going to be there.  The manager who had called me the day before and asked me to start Tuesday night apparently forgot to inform last night’s manager about me.   It was… interesting.

After the initial confusion, it went pretty well.  The co-workers I met (including the General Manager) were all very nice, and that’s always a bonus!

As much as I dislike working in retail, with my schedule for school, it’s pretty much my only option right now.  The manager who hired me assured me that they would work with me when school starts.

I’ve worked in retail, off and on, since I was 17.  Done everything from stock to management.  Parts of it I really like; most of it (especially the long, crazy hours!) I cannot stand.  I kind of got ’stuck’ in this line of work because I was a stay-at-home mom for 15 years, and, again, the hours of the retail world allowed me to work when my (now ex) husband could be home with the kiddos.  After so many years of doing the same thing, I wasn’t really qualified to jump into another field.  This is one of the principal reasons I chose to go back to school.

Hopefully I can get in touch with someone today who can give me my work schedule!  And I’m going to be optimistic that the chaos of last night is not the norm around there!

The newest member of our family is BlackJack. He is an 11-month-old Chihuahua/Rat Terrier mix. What a sweet boy! Unfortunately, he has some socialization issues, but we are working on them. We got him from a family that just had too much activity for the little guy to handle.

He’s been with us for two weeks today. I can’t imagine my life without him now!

All of my grades are finally posted, and, it’s officially been a very successful semester for me! All A’s! A 4.0 for the Spring semester, bay-bee!

There was a lot of hard work and perseverance involved, and I was also lucky enough to have some extremely supportive people by my side (most of all, my daughter B, and Tim–I love you both!). I am so very proud of all that I have accomplished so far! Life is good!

Today marks the end of my first year of college.  I’m no longer a freshman.  Wow.  I’m sad!

While I am definitely looking forward to the experiences and challenges that still lie ahead of me, I am feeling a bit sentimental about all that is already behind me.

Like, right now, I’m kind of freaked that I don’t have any homework to do!  (Kind of pathetic, huh?)

For the next few days–or however long it takes–I’ll be constantly checking the school’s website for my final grades.  (A different kind of stress!)  I earned a 3.8 grade point average last semester (and a spot on the dean’s list!), and I am hoping that I was able to maintain something at least close to that this semester.  (Yes, I am very hard on myself, but it usually pays off!)

So, maybe now that I’ll have a little more time on my hands, I can start blogging again.  What do ya think?

The lucky winner of the beautiful American Living handbag from JCPenney is… [drumroll please!]:

Debi Marks!

Congratulations, Debi!

Thank you to everyone who entered, and I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

“Making a decision to have a child–it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”  -Elizabeth Stone

Happy Mother’s Day!  If you haven’t already, take a moment to enter the JCPenney/RealWorldMom Mother’s Day Giveaway–it ends today!

Two weeks ago today, a toothache started.  More of an annoyance than real pain, so I took Advil and kept going.  The next morning (Sunday), I woke up and the right side of my face was really swollen.  I was worried.

Fast forward to one week ago today.  After two trips to the emergency room, two different antibiotics, and two different pain medications, I went to an oral surgeon.  The tooth couldn’t be saved, so out it came.

I’ve given birth four times, and this extraction was worse than all four births/labors combined!  (I had a [mostly unfounded] fear of dentists before then; now I absolutely have a reason to be afraid!)

One week later, I am finally feeling almost better.  (Of course, it doesn’t help that I also acquired a cold during this time.)  I hate being sick–especially for two weeks straight!  Now that I’m feeling a little more like myself, I’ve got to try to be careful not to over-do it and end up back-sliding.  (More frustration!)

Thank goodness for Tim!  He is always there for me, but he’s been such a rock for me these past two weeks of hell!  He completely took over running the house so that ‘all’ I had to concentrate on was getting well and school.  I so wuv him! 

Tuesday is my last day of school and then summer break!  I have my algebra final exam and an English test, but I’m not sweating those at all.  I’ll also find out what grade I got on my sociology exam (think I did pretty well).  Still can’t believe it’s almost over!

Off to do a little more cleaning!  Hope your Saturday is a beautiful one!

…Of my second semester of college.  (What did you think I meant?!)

I can’t believe how quickly this school year has gone by!  So many new experiences–mostly good ones–and so much that I’ve accomplished!  I never really believed I was capable of being a college student.  I was lazy horrible in high school, so how could I possibly succeed in college??  Amazing what a different perspective and a great support system can help you achieve!

I was even able to overcome my fear/dislike of math!  To me, that is absolutely one of my biggest victories so far.  I honestly considered dropping the whole idea of going to school because I’d have to take math courses.  Guess what?  I’m an ‘A’ math student!! Not only am I capable, I am capable of kicking it’s ass!!  :-)  I can’t even begin to tell you what this has done for my self-confidence.  Amazing stuff!

So, only two more days of classes and three more final exams until the official end of my first year as a college student.  Sad and exciting all at the same time.