Could This Be What God Has For Me?

I have a JOB INTERVIEW on Thursday at 4pm!!!

Wait, it gets better...

I had applied at a hospital that is currently in the process of being built. They are a surgical hospital that is physician owned. I thought it would be neat to help form a department and I was hoping to get an interview.

When I called about two weeks ago I was told that the hospital needed to hire a respiratory supervisor before they could hire staff so I probably wouldn't hear back until June. I was disappointed but kept looking for a new job.

Well today I got a call and the woman in Human Resources called me and asked me if I wanted to interview for the supervisor position! I couldn't believe it...I really expected that they might have already have had therapists in mind for that position. I agreed to the interview and now I am set for Thursday at 4pm.

I am already looking for a professional business outfit and I am printing my resume out on nicer paper to give to them. I am hoping to walk in there and knock their socks off. I am going to interview with a large group of influential people in the hospital so it's going to be tough.

Keep me in your prayers...I need this job!

Thanks!

The Dirty 30's!!! (aka I Got Older)

On the 15th I turned 30.

I didn't have a major crisis. I didn't whine about feeling old.

I believe I just smiled and said "My next 10 years will be so much better than the last."

Atta girl!

Quiet You Brats! Mama's Watching Her Stories!

So I am on week two of being out of the "work force." Between eating my bon-bons and watching my "stories" in my bathrobe and rollers I pretend to look for work and enroll in school but don't sign up for any classes. I then take Stephen's check and blow it on a new turkey fryer and a box of Twinkies at the Walmart. After that I move the car engine out of the bathtub so I can take a bath and drink Pabst Blue Ribbon out of a Dixie cup.

Okay, so that's not the way it has gone, but I like fabricating stories around stereotypes.

It's been good and bad being a full time mom. I love my three monkeys so much. It's been great to feel available to them. I have also been attending church on Sunday and I am able to eat lunch with the family on Fridays (our tradition). I also have the house more kept up and the kids are in more of a routine. The only thing that sucks is that there are these things called "bills" that keep coming in the mail. Sometimes they disguise themselves as "statements" or "invoices" but they are the same thing. They are all people who think that I have money to give them. I want to chuckle when I see the amounts they think I have sitting here waiting to give them...the fools! You need a job to have that kind of money!

So back to the age old debate...should mama take her precious children and place them in the care of someone else so she can work and bring home the bacon or should she watch her husband work 14 hour days and count pennies until they are self-sufficient and she can again go to work without guilt?

It's really not an easy answer...especially since Stephen is self-employed and it's not like he can just work overtime. It's kind of wild and stupid at the same time...like floating down the Mississippi without a paddle or a chastity belt (think Deliverance).

I am not sure what is going to happen yet. Today was a bad day...I was wondering if someone might actually pay me if I had to become an exotic dancer. I took comfort knowing that if they didn't like what they saw they could pay me to put my clothing back on. When I start thinking in those terms then you know things are a bit stressful. And to those who are appalled at my thought...get over it. If you haven't been down and out enough to have this thought then you really need to experience life a little more.

I don't want people worrying about me. We will make it. It's a time for change and growing. We are out of our comfort zone and it's probably good for us. Just keep us in your prayers that God points us in the right direction soon.

Fabulous!

My five year old just sang the word "fabulous."

I am so glad he did because it brought this SNL treasure back to the front of my mind.

Enjoy!

Homocil

Add to My Profile More Videos

Update: The Job Situation

Thanks to everyone who has been so wonderfully supportive and willing to do whatever they can to help me in my current situation with my career. It meant a lot to me to know that so many people have my back. :-)

Not much has changed. I still can't take the exam, although I have been pushing with the National Board for Respiratory Care. I found out I am missing two classes (chemistry and physics) and if I took those classes that I could take the exam but I wouldn't be able to get my AS. I have already started looking into schools.

I have already come to terms with the fact that I will no longer be working at my hospital. It was a part of my identity for 5 years and so the transition will be tough. I have the option to rush into another job or to collect unemployment. I have decided to opt for unemployment for this moment as I go back to school. I think I would be filling up my plate too full to try and work and go to school with all three kidlets. If I go back to school at least I will be able to take the exam and get my RRT credential that I can take anywhere, and that includes being re-hired at my old job.

I have already put in an application for the kids to get Healthy Families insurance. I wish I could COBRA out my current benefits but it would be far too expensive. Stephen and I will just try not to get hurt or sick.

My only frustration with this whole thing was that I wasn't given more than a month's warning that I would lose my job, and when I did find out that I needed more time to go to school I was refused that time. It isn't ethical. I did consider hiring a lawyer but that can be a two way street. I may win, but even if I do I will be permanently marked as "The RT That Sues" and I don't think it would be worth it.

Thanks to everyone who has been so sweet to me. It's been a pretty emotional time, especially since it was going on during the holidays.

Gotta run....here goes nothing!

Shock

One of my dear friends, Carey, was just diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. She is only 37 and has two young children.

Please send your prayers for her. She's just a wonderful mom and friend, I love having her in my life.

Love you Carey.

Pushing Back Tears With Faith

Proverbs 3:5,6 says: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

This has got to be one of my favorite Bible verses of all times. It reminds me of a big cozy blanket on a cold night. Many times in my life I have trusted and looking back I knew that the Lord knew what was right all along.

Tonight I sit here slowly absorbing that my career might be ending soon against my wishes. The tears keep trying to sneak up on me but I push them back. The kids are here and I don't want them to worry because mommy is upset.

To truly understand what is happening to me, you have to know a bit of background. I graduated from a vocational college ten years ago without my AS degree but I took my CRRT exam to become a Respiratory Care Practitioner and I passed. Now a step above that exam is the RRT, which is a national registry and given by the National Board for Respiratory Care. I graduated from college "Registry Eligible," meaning that I was able to take the RRT exam. Years passed and I had my kids, went inactive for awhile when I was staying at home, and returned to work in 2004. I went to work for a large medical center where I soon became a relief lead for pediatrics, was a member of the highly regarded transport team, and precepted other therapists. My experience has made me a huge asset to the department and my co-workers are like family. The last two years of my life were nuts. I was divorced, a single mom, then remarried, then pregnant, then I had major surgery, then I had my baby, and coming back from maternity leave I decided I would have to get my RRT exam done. Administration had been asking this of us for awhile but it had never been a priority because my personal life was so crazy.

I applied for my RRT exam but was unable to determine by the selections I was given how I qualified to take the exam. I called the NBRC and asked them which box I was supposed to check and they told me that two years ago they started requiring an AS degree to take the exam. I told them I graduated "registry eligible" so I should be grandfathered in but they refused and when I argued further the lady on the other end of the phone told me to get another job. I hung up very upset and went to my manager with my predicament. She was very understanding and even went up to bat for me, writing a letter to complain about how I was treated and sending it to the NBRC. I let her know that I was going to look into going back to school and she was supportive and told me to let her know what was going on.

I looked into different colleges and one college in particular wanted $17k for me to finish my AS degree. I wasn't sure if this was going to be my best bet so I looked into other schools. We had to weigh out costs and time, as going back to school with three kids and a full time job would be hard.

Two weeks ago I got a letter from Administration telling the therapists in my department that by January 1st, 2008 all RTs would be required to have passed or at least attempted the RRT exam. Those who didn't would have their positions terminated.

I wrote a letter to my manager, administrator, and executive director explaining my situation and how I would be unable to take the RRT exam due to circumstances beyond my control and asked them if I should be concerned about my job. I was called into my manager's office and she told me that it didn't look good because they were unable to make exceptions for this rule because otherwise they would be playing favorites and it might open them to lawsuits. They were unable to hold my position while I went back to school. Basically, their hands were tied and they had to let me go. She did recommend that I try writing out my goals for them. She said that she couldn't promise anything, but they could try. I told her I would.

(I hope I'm not losing you guys...hang in there for a little longer.)

My vocational college had closed down years ago so I had to do some investigating and asking around to find my transcripts. Finally I had them sent to me a couple of days ago. I started calling colleges immediately and what I learned was like a smack in the face. None of the colleges I called would accept the classes I had taken at the vocational college towards my AS degree. In fact, I would have to completely start over like a new student with no credits. So in order to keep my job I would have to start over again as if I knew nothing.

In 13 days is my last day of work. I have done some job hunting and turned in my resume but as it stands I am looking at losing everything...my job, my paycheck, my benefits (which my children and spouse are covered under), life insurance, my retirement in less than two weeks and I can't do anything about it. The worst part is that my hospital is just the first to implement this standard and other hospitals will soon follow, meaning that I will not be able to work anywhere soon.

So I stand here at a place in the road where there are so many ways I could go. I could start over and do the program all over again and add another huge student loan to my debt load. I could collect unemployment and look for another job. I could go to college for something completely different. There may be a new path there I can't even see yet. I feel as if I am hovering above a tank full of sharks and I need a game plan on how I will survive falling in the water.

I look at my kids and know I can't just throw my hands up. They need me to be strong and push on and take care of them. My husband is self employed and while he does well we still depend heavily on my income right now. How will I juggle childcare? Will my new job be supportive of me pumping at work so I can keep breastfeeding Midge? What can I sell if I need money? What if I can't get a job? Where is a good place I can waitress?....etc....etc.

Right now I need prayers, and lots of them. I am trying to keep my faith that God has something bigger and better planned for me and a year from now I will be looking back and things will be okay.

I will update my situation as things unravel so keep checking back.

Thanks for your support and love during this difficult time.