things have been very tough for us of late. no one's been working and the collectors are getting more than a little ancy. i've been off my meds for over 6 months. even paying the utilities has become a stressful chore and i became unemployable when the governor cut the education budget. i've been out of school for 6 months and it just seemed that it was time for us to get a break at least 3 months ago!
folks, relief is on the way!
as of today, my wonderful hubby is employed! when he called with the good news, i almost cried. it's a job he wanted and the pay is pretty damn good: 9.75/hour. he'll be working with the developmentally disabled and kids with behavior problems, something he's actually wanted to be involved in for some time. it has good bennies on top of the pay, including insurance and a 401k. the vacation/sick days are accrued in an odd way, but that's cool, and he gets school holidays and weekends off. he will work only part time in the summer, but at 9.75, we'll be fine. at least there will be an income coming in.
and he's a lot less frustrated already. ;)
the fact that they took him without a degree is nothing short of a miracle, but i guess having a class b with a passenger endorsement and being willing, even wanting, to work with the disabled, plus having some previous experience, made up for it. saxy commented i could even work there, but there's the issue of someone being home for my son and me trying to go for my mfa. in a few years, hopefully, taz can be home with his oldest sister and do okay. for now, he needs adult supervision and i won't risk his progress with a child care center. besides, until i could make enough to cover his care, personal work supplies, transportation, etc, there's no point in me going to work. in other words, i'd need to be able to earn more than $2000 a month after taxes and that means a higher wage.
it's odd not having the man home and the not having the tv on all day. i'm not much of a tv person, but saxy was raised on it. reading puts him to sleep. i much prefer music. even though saxy is the one working, my schedule has to change to compensate. i get taz and shebop up and out for school and then train the dog in the mornings now. being up earlier is a good thing for me anyway since it allows me to get a bunch of things done before i get into the writing part of my day without having half the day gone before i finally open word.
course, this will take some getting used to. i've only been up 2 hours and am already thinking of taking a nap.
and then there's the van. he gets to bring it home, which means transportation is covered. but i can't help but worry about it, especially in our neighborhood. i was out and checking to make sure it was still there at 3:30 this morning.
his first paycheck will be a bit short since it will only cover a week, but we already have plans. first we're getting my meds. then saxy needs some clothes to go to work in (one thing about being poor, once the clothing starts to go, you make due because it's all so expensive!). finally we plan to take the family out to dinner to celebrate. after that we buckle down and i start trying to get us out from under the mountains of bills that's been piling for awhile now.
i want to close with some thank yous. thank you to the dreaming in ink members who helped with everything and supported us emotionally. thank you to the friends who have prayed for us, cried with us, stressed with us, and generally been there for us. thanks to rayna for bailing me out when i needed it. thank you to everyone who sent us well wishes, prayers, and hope. we appreciate it more than you will ever know. without you guys, this time would have been that much darker and that much harder to get through.
site of the moment:
papermint
ring/clique of the moment:
special*k
word of the moment: compel
to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly; to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure