When Caring Matters

My update today is full of flowers and sunshine.  To say this is the happiest I've been in a long time would be quite the understatement.  My new job has been awesome.  Yes, of course it's still work.  Yes, sometimes I get frustrated and I do see things that I would love to be improved.  But it's so much better than any other place I have ever worked.  It's a fairly relaxed atmosphere, with jovial joking and teasing that comes with people who trust each other.  No more itchy polyester uniforms, and I haven't been banned from the lunch room (yet.)  I will have health insurance again on December 1, and it's $300 less per month for my entire family than it was at my last job.  My pay has doubled and unfortunately, my commute has tripled.  But the good far outweighs any bad, and I practically skip into work and yell GOOD MORNING to anyone who is willing to hear me out.  It IS a good morning, and I'm happy to be there!

You CAN dress professionally/nicely without wearing a cheap uniform.  Who knew?  Striped shirt (which my husband calls my Where's Waldo shirt) from WalMart 2015, Lane Bryant pants (super old, at least five years and maybe even ten years old) and Payless shoes.  

I think the icing on my cake came a few days ago when I needed to return my health insurance paperwork.  The lady there is very nice (she also has an 18 year old son on the autism spectrum, so we chat frequently) and when I turned the papers in, she said to me "Thank you.  Tell me first, are you happy here?"  Not in my nearly 25 year history of working has anyone in HR ever asked me that question.  I was stunned by it.  I said, "Yes, this is the happiest I've been in a really long time.  Everyone is so nice here.  Thank you for asking me!"  She honestly put the Human back in Human Resources...what a concept!  I have unlimited overtime right now, a stipend to spend on education for myself, and I found out yesterday that I got a Christmas bonus.  I heard the other girls talking about it, but I assumed I would not get one since I had been there for less than 90 days.  But yesterday at our Thanksgiving luncheon, I was surprised to see a check for me as well.  My new director handed it to me, welcomed me again to the team, and I got a hug too.  Can you see how this is so different than my last job?  I am blessed, blessed, blessed!!!

I was elected again to be secretary of my coding group for 2017.  I am learning a lot, meeting so many awesome people, and I can wear jeans on Friday and leave at noon.  I have to thank the Lord for leading me here.  I spent 13 years at the hospital, just stagnating.  I could have let my getting fired be one of those moments that ruined my life.  But I used it as a learning tool and pushed forward.  Every job I've had since then has been nothing but an opportunity to learn things (either things I liked or hated) and to bring me to the next step.  Not one moment was wasted.  I'd like to think this is the last step in my career hunt, that I've found the place that I can retire from in my 60s or 70s.

So there you have it.  I'm happy, looking forward to a great Thanksgiving with my family.  My daughter has a job that she likes (doesn't love, it's retail and she's an introvert so every day is a struggle for her), she's planning on going back to school in January or February depending on her car situation.  My oldest son is engaged and just bought his first car.  Bucket is a senior in high school (again) and only needs two more credits to graduate.  No update on his social security disability, if I don't hear anything by January I may consider getting a lawyer involved.  Mr. R's health is deteriorating due to being in the truck.  Now that I make so much more money, we can actually afford for him to come off the road and he's looking into becoming a dispatcher in the trucking industry.

So there is my long overdue update.  I'll update again in December once I get my hair done again.  As you can see I did chop it all off.  The exact date was October 8, and I know this because it was the day after Hurricane Matthew hit my area (very little damage here, praise God!).  Oh I guess I should post those pictures.

This is me in the car the second I left the salon.  So if you ever wanted to know what I look like without makeup, this is it.  

This is me the next day.  I am not thrilled about the color.  This is the color I did when my hair was long.  I am planning to go darker when I redo my hair on December 1.

I love this picture so much (and it's just a selfie!) that it's now my facebook profile picture, and my LinkedIn profile picture too.

Learning how to pixie.

I haven't decided if I'm keeping the pixie or letting it grow out.  I'm looking like a fuzzy mushroom these days.  It doesn't help that my stylist is on vacation for two weeks so I can't get in until December.  That is one thing about pixies...for it to look decent, you better get used to sitting in that stylist chair frequently.  I am loving not having a ponytail and my headaches have virtually disappeared.  But the color threw me off and I may start coloring my own hair again in order to afford monthly haircuts.  Decisions will be made soon.

Have a lovely, blessed day!  Jesus loves you!