Thursday, March 15, 2012

Living the Dream

So, remember in January when I was so excited that I finally landed a job?  Looking for a job in suburbia, for lack of a better term, sucks.  Even with all of my qualifications, (hey, I think seven years working in a high stress military environment gives me some credibility) I was either way over or under qualified for everything I applied for.  I couldn't even get an intern job at the history museum and I have a freaking Bachelor's degree in History!  Boo...

Well, work has been fine.  Nothing fancy, and it only paid "ok."  But, yesterday, I got the call I have been waiting since we moved here for.  For the next, well, foreseeable future, I will be spending my days doing work for a non for profit organization that works with children that have Down Syndrome.  Yes folks, this is my dream job.  I know I am getting my Masters degree in Special Education, but I really wanted to work for an agency like this.  They hold 60-ish events each year to celebrate and support those that have DS.  I couldn't imagine a better place to work.  While I felt like I made a difference working for the army, I will now be able to see that difference that I hope to make.  To make a child laugh and smile is a gift from God, and that will be my life starting in two weeks.  I am truly blessed.

In other news, I have been back on the workout train.  Without mentioning my actual weight, I have put on way too many pounds since marrying my love.  And while he's away, I am going to work on getting that figure back.  Our local radio station is doing a weight loss challenge where the winner gets a free trip to Jamaica.  Awesome, right?  And if that's not enough motivation, they also gave away a free month long membership at one of the local gyms.  A girl that I work with, who is fastly becoming a dear friend, decided to sign up with me as a team.  It's been great having a workout buddy, and so far in the first week I am down 2.2 pounds.  Whoo hoo!

Joel is doing just fine.  I miss him like crazy, though.  He's only been gone a little over two weeks, but at least I have been keeping busy.  Between school, work, the gym, and occasional time with friends, not to mention taking care of our zoo at home, I've stayed pretty busy, which I think is key.  I've noticed two occasions where his absence is much more noticeable than other times.  When I either get up in the morning or go to bed, and when I get some news I want to celebrate.  Getting up because he normally handles the dogs (which I now do), and of course going to bed alone is never fun.  Well, Pugsley sleeps in the bed, but that's a little different.  But, it was really hard to have such exciting news and not be able to just call him and tell him about it or to go out to dinner or something to celebrate.  Those are the times that are the hardest on me.

Other than that, life is good!  The weather has been amazingly beautiful, I scored another A at school which keeps my 4.0 intact, the house has been good to me, and somehow I am keeping it all together while Joel is gone.

3 comments:

Mrs. F said...

Congrats on the new job! It's such an awesome feeling to do what you love, and get paid for it!

Jessica Lynn said...

What a great update! Your new job sounds absolutely perfect! And good work on the weight loss. A trip to Jamaica is definitely a great motivation!

Katiellirb said...

Love this post! Sounds like you're feeling a lot better! Congratulations on the dream job - you deserve it! And keep up the great work with the weight loss. I'm super impressed! :)