There will be plenty of changes for us next year. The biggest one, which Cindy has already mentioned, is that we are moving in with my mom for the next two years to help her deal with…well, everything really. (I’m sure there’ll be stories to tell.)
Also, for the past year I’ve been working two part-time jobs at the same organization so I can have full-time benefits. On January 2nd, I’ll be working one — count ‘em, one — full-time job. My hours won’t be as flexible as they are now, but I won’t be in danger of being witnessed to either. (Good Lord, I hate when people do that. And by the way, never-ending harp music is not a selling point for me, okay?) One of my part-time jobs has been a source of misery for more than a year now, and I’m thrilled to be rid of it.
A lousy job with an even lousier co-worker combined with everything that has been going on with my dad since September 9th has had me either depressed or on edge. I’m just exhausted. And there’s still all kinds of stuff that needs to be taken care of regarding my dad’s affairs, which he somehow managed to avoid dealing with for the past 5+ years.
In spite of everything, I’m cautiously optimistic about the upcoming year. Over the last several months, I’ve been thinking about all the things over the last several years I’ve wanted to do, but never finished, or worse, never started. I haven’t exactly been following my bliss here, you know. I feel like I’m merely surviving my life, not living it.
But good things are shaping up for the new year. When I was asked by the department head to apply for a position, I wasn’t looking for a new job yet, but I applied and, of course, I got the job, which comes with slightly better pay and co-workers that don’t annoy me. And there’s a couple of “downsides” that are actually good things. I will have to dress better (business casual instead of jeans, sneakers, and t-shirts), and because I feel so uncomfortable wearing business casual clothes, I have to start going back to the gym and eating better. (Cindy is really happy about that.)
There’s a lot of things to do and changes to make in the next few weeks, but I hope to get back to posting regularly as soon as I can.
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Sending you big hugs and soothing drinks to deal with your exhaustion! When my grandpa passed away last year, his children (my dad and his bros and step sisters) had a helluva time getting his affairs in order, even tho grandpa *had* done quite a bit to prepare…like, checking accounts and stuff freeze up when you pass away (who knew?) so no one could access grandpa’s money to pay for things for awhile. My parents have since changed their bank accounts so that won’t happen with them, and are urging us to do the same (we need to get on the ball with that).
and wow, sounds like you’re going through a lot of changes! Congrats on the new job and escaping that one insufferable co-worker! And more pay and better co-workers (or cow-orkers, if you prefer)…yay!
New year coming up, new job, big life changes, a perfect time to re-assess your life and make a “life map” of what you want to be doing. The Pete and I need to get down to doing that, too.
Anywho, keep us informed about how you like the new job and all!
Aw, Chris! I’m happy for your optimism. It sounds like the optimism is a tiny little seedling right now, but that’s better than nothing.