Patience = Blessings!

At long last I have a job! Getting here has been no easy task, but well worth the wait. I received more "Dear John" letters than I can count, and experienced more tear-filled days and nights than at any other point in my life!

Job hunting really isn't my favorite pastime, so when I found job listings of seemingly great opportunities for which I was completely qualified, I applied with an eager attitude! However, time and time again, I would receive "Dear John" letters either in the mail or via e-mail. I didn't get it. I prayed. I cried. George consoled me and boosted my spirits. Friends and family cheered me up and reminded me of my Savior's love for me. They reminded me to be patient. Soooo patient!

After many prayers, many days of fasting, and many tears, I have a job. I'm working for WA State DSHS in the Division of Aging and Long-term Care!! I have been working for a few years now to get a State job, but I have finally found that persistence pays off, along with waiting for the right time to come.

Now, the funny thing is how I ended up here in the first place. It was by no accident that I ended up getting a job at Franklin Hills, a nursing home, three years ago. Had I known I was interviewing for a nursing home, I'd have never even applied. But at the time I thought it was a drug/alcohol rehab facility. Imagine my surprise when I realized my mistaken assumption!

Even though I didn't want to work in a nursing home, I went ahead with the interview and figured if it was meant to be, I'd be there. Well, much to my surprise, I was offered the job there, and spent the next 2 1/2 years working for Extendicare (the parent company).

My first day on the job was one I will never, ever forget. I was the Administrative Assistant, so I sat right in the lobby by the front door to do my job. Near the end of my first day, a couple came up to the lobby and sat and talked for a few minutes. Then they gave each other a hug and kiss, and the husband walked out of the facility. His sweet wife sat in the lobby at the window in her wheelchair waving at him. She waved until the last puff of exhaust vanished from his car. She then turned around in her wheelchair, said hello to me, and wheeled off to her room.

I immediately left my desk, ran for the bathroom, and sobbed! I must have cried for what seemed like an eternity, but I had to compose myself before going back to my desk. After work, and after George returned home from work that night, I sat him down and sobbed again. I told him I couldn't return to work there because of the emotional pain. What I remember most clearly was his response to me. He said, "Honey, I love you. *smile* You were hired there for a reason, and those residents need you. You have to stick it out." And that was that. No more grumbling. Still plenty of crying. But no more grumbling. And I loved working there! In fact, I resigned from that job in Nov. 2009 and had a bittersweet experience just prior to leaving. (If you want the details of my departure from FHHR, you'll have to dig through the archives. I blogged about it when it happened.)

Just a few days before my last day, I had the opportunity to sit with, and just talk to, one of my most favorite residents. For the sake of anonymity, I'll not share her name. But I knew in my heart that she was nearing the end of her life. She had just completed her daily walk with the therapist and was sitting in her wheelchair. She was unable to speak because of her late-stage dementia. I crouched down next to her, held her hand (which she rubbed constantly every time I held her hand... I loved that...) and told her how proud I was of her for continuing to walk every day. And I talked... and talked.... and talked some more. I knew that somewhere deep down inside she could hear me, even if she wasn't responding with any more than rubbing my hand. I then wheeled her back to her room for her next treatment and went about the rest of my day. It was a couple days later that she passed away in her sleep.

Why did I share this story? Because I love the elderly. I have come to understand that they're not all sweet and innocent, but there are some that just simply melt my heart. She was one of them. So it was no accident that I got that job. It was in preparation for this new opportunity.

I'm so incredibly grateful for all of the support I've received from my friends and family! I am grateful that I've been able spend the first 7 months of Baby George's life at home with him and Madeleine. I know that I am a much more fun mommy when I have adult interaction throughout my day and then the ability to come home to my kids. And George and I are eager to get my student loan and our mortgage paid off. Then we'll be debt-free and sitting pretty! We will also be teaching our children one of the most valuable lessons of their lives by being obedient and staying out of debt!