Hi friends,
I have so much to share with everyone, some not-so-good events, and other changes that have happened in my life. To do this we must step back in time, so turn on Cher's "If I could turn back time".
In 2016, my workplace was at its highest point of toxicity, and my depression and anxiety were out of control. There were days that it was hard to get out of bed, brush my teeth, or think of taking care of my needs let alone go to work. So in 2017 when I was dismissed from my job (the best thing that ever happened) they were unhappy with my job performance, Hmm, I wondered why when you mentally abuse your employees then their job performance may suffer.
April 5, 2017, Was "D" day for me. This was the end of one chapter in my career and the beginning of a new adventure. I was fired from my job. I remembered that they called me back to the HR office and sitting in that chair telling myself not to cry. They were not worth my tears. I turned my keys in and grabbed my personal belongings from my office. Afterward, I called my husband and cried on the phone not because I was fired what was next in my life. The uncertainty of the future terrified me. During this time, I was working on finishing my bachelor's degree in Anthropology. My favorite memory was when I went home and my youngest son had run me a hot bath and fixed me a grilled cheese sandwich. This was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever done for me but my 17-year-old knew what I needed at that moment.
That summer I took time to concentrate on my studies, filed for unemployment, and waited for my severance package. That fall I took a job at a call center for a pharmaceutical company.
Let's jump to 2018, I graduated with my bachelor's degree and my youngest graduated from high school. This was also the year that I decided to start looking for schools for my master's degree in history and became a substitute teacher. Subs should really be paid better than what they are currently. In December the school district offered me a tutoring position at an elementary school. I was beyond excited to accept their offer and started my master's program.
Who could ever forget 2020! Two weeks after I finished my History, MA most of the world had shut down due to Covid 19. This put a wrench in trying to find a job in the field that I study and worked so hard to earn degrees in. This was also the year that I lost a sister due to health complications from breast cancer and our beloved dog Loki passed away from cancer. This was a roller coaster year for so many of us. My daughter gave birth to her second child that summer. We were not sure if we would be able to travel to South Dakota to see the newest member of our family. Let me tell you that driving from Ohio to South Dakota is not for the faint of heart. Being in the car for 18-plus hours is hard on the body. This was worth it though because we saw so much of the country and our newest grandchild was gorgeous. We had taken so many precautions to make this happen.
2022 came along and I thought it was going ok for the first few months but then it was not. My mother had been in and out of the hospital due to health issues. July my brother was found dead from an overdose. This crushed my mother. Drugs destroy families. I had to learn how to be a rock for my mother. The drama at his funeral was surreal. I was also about to start a new job as a school librarian that my school district offered me. This has become a dream job for me that I never knew I wanted. Let me begin by telling you that the job does not pay well and it can be exhausting mentally and physically but it is so worth it. So the ups and downs of the past few years has been exhausting but that's not all folks.
Towards the end of my first year as an elementary librarian I had to rush my cat Gizmo to the vet. He was lethargic, not eating, or drinking. This came on suddenly out of no where. The vet advise that I leave him there while they do some test so I went into work. I was worried all day and tried not to let the kids see that I was worried. During my kindergarten class I received news that his kidneys and other organs were shutting down. Without more testing they would not be able to figure out the why but the vet advised me that euthanizing him would be the human thing to do. Sadly I agree to do this but asked the vet to let me be there to say my goodbyes. He was the sweetest cat and I still miss him everyday.
This was the last photo that I had taken of Gizmo. RIP my sweet little guy.
