Those of you who follow on facebook know that my Service Aide job has come to an end {last weekend}. I can honestly say I am BUMMED – I mean, thrilled for my friend who is coming back, but so BUMMED for me. I really did love this job, and was happy to see how the casual thing would work out. I guess I’m lucky that I don’t HAVE to work, so I had a little freedom in just taking casual shifts or waiting for the right position.
And then it happened.
A posting…the perfect kind of posting. Part time, at the hospital, utilizing my former admin skills and experience. So I applied. And got an interview {seriously!}.
AND GOT THE JOB!!!!
So, yesterday I began my career as the Admin Assistant to the Director of Clinical Engineering. And I couldn’t be more thrilled! It makes leaving my position not quite so difficult.
And then, another amazing thing happened. A friend of mine, a former youth leader who is like a sister to me {for 18 years now} e-mailed me. Her mother in law, who has been a widow for about a year and a half, is needing a little tlc. She asked me if I knew anyone who would be able to provide an outing and some attention for an hour or two every afternoon. She listed some requirements based on the situation and I thought, hey, I can do this. And she said they had hoped I would, but didn’t want to ask because of the commitment.
Not only were they moving her within minutes from the hospital {SO convenient for me}, but the entire opportunity just struck me as nothing close to coincidental. I am excited to spend some time with her each day, take her out, make memories, and just love her. But more than that, I am most definitely aware of the incredible impact she is going to have on my life.
It is a difficult thing to watch someone suffer from varying stages of dementia. I saw it fairly regularly as a Service Aide, and it does something to a person’s soul.
please don’t ever let that be me.
I mean, being a widow comes with its own challenges – I see it with my mother in law. But to be a widow AND be confused AND believe your loved ones have abandoned you. It breaks my heart.
It’s also been 9 years this coming week that I’ve been without a grandma {or a grandparent}, and often I have wished that I could have their influence in my life now. Grandparents are pretty incredible people. I was able to spend a lot of time with my dad’s mom for months in the hospital before she died {2002}, and those memories are some of my fondest.
And now I get the opportunity to create more memories with this {sometimes not so} sweet lady.
I am so grateful that neither job impacts my life as a mom or the kids schooling. AND, should my admin job ever require more hours, my afternoon gig is totally flexible. I mean, how lucky can a girl get?
Right now, I am feeling blessed. Really, really blessed.
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