I recently accepted the fact that, while I am a Wyoming gal thru and thru, I'm also an adopted Texan. And I'm coming home.
Job searching has been brutal. From putting in applications to waiting to getting the "thanks but no thanks" letter, it sucks being judged and found wanting over and over again. I thought I had landed the perfect job: work from home, benefits, GREAT pay, 401K matching, the works. They sent me an offer letter, I signed it and sent it back, put in my official notice at work, and looked forward to the next steps. Well, the next steps included them EMAILING me a check for $3999 with instructions to print it, sign it, and deposit it into my account via my mobile banking app. Then I was to send them confirmation of the deposit. Yeah, sure, a company is going to send you almost four grand just for the hell of it. So, I dodged a scam but had already put in my notice. I was getting pretty desperate for a job.
I was sitting in the San Antonio airport coming back from a visit with my bestie and I started crying. I didn't want to leave San Antonio, I had no job prospects, I was depressed and going to have to ask if I could stay at my job longer because I had nearly fallen for a scam. Then my remote-work boss texted me to ask when I'd be home. I told her I was on my way and in the airport. She said she'd wait until I was home to tell me something. I told her not to wait because I was already intrigued. She said that there had been some talk of them offering me a full-time job to come back to the hospital. The amount of relief I felt in that moment can't be measured. Suffice to say I praised God for His goodness and asked how serious this was. After applying for the job and having an interview with the ladies I'd be working for, I accepted the offer to come back to GRMC, this time as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Nursing Officer and the Assistant Chief Nursing Officer. It feels really good to know that they want me back after being gone for 3.5 years.
Going back to Texas feels more like coming home than coming back to WY did. I think it's because WY is where I grew up, and I do have some old friends around here, but TX is where I built my own life. My bestie lives down there, I know the music festivals and things that I love going to, I can go to the river, there's just more for me there. I've decided NOT to live in Glen Rose this time (kinda done with small towns for a while), but instead will find an apt in southwest Fort Worth. I've found some different prospects and I'll be looking at them while I'm waiting on my drug tests to come back. There is a lot I am grateful for, but at the top of my list right now is my bestie and Ana. My bestie has also been apartment hunting for me, checking out floor plans and locations. Ana has been looking for furniture - a couch, table and chairs, dresser, you name it she's looking for it. Once I get established, my bestie and I are going to start looking for a fuzzy companion for me. I'm thinking a cat or a bunny. Both of them have said it will be more fun to visit me in Ft Worth than it would out in the boondocks, and I must agree. I may re-evaluate after a year of having an hour-long commute, but maybe not.
I'm checking off my list of things to do: last day at work, file taxes, pack, have a plan of attack for the move, check with a friend if I can stay with her until I get a place, figure on 2 trips to move everything, have a goodbye BBQ with my Arnett family, pick up my last check, say my goodbyes here, and start fresh in Fort Worth. I'm looking forward to having insurance again for 2 reasons: my thyroid and my back. I ran out of my thyroid med in October and since I don't have insurance, I've been living without. Honestly, I thought I didn't need it anymore. However, the weight gain, fatigue, and cold all the time makes me think that perhaps I really do. I miss Korean health care. As for my back, I think I have a pinched sciatic nerve. I hurt myself just putting on my leggings today - I feel the pain all the way down my right leg, in my butt, and around to the other side of my back. Moving around isn't fun at ALL. I took some painkillers and put a pain patch on to try to help because I'm having coffee with a friend today, and dinner at my dad's house, so I can't be all laid up! I'm not sure if a doctor can help with that any more than just prescribing painkillers and telling me to get back into yoga, but getting my thyroid sorted out and losing some of the weight I've put on will help my mood immensely. My older sister isn't all that happy that I'm going back to Texas as with every move she feels like I'll never move to WA and be with her. That's kinda fair except she's only going to be home 3 months out of this year, and I couldn't find a job in WA, either!! I didn't want to move with no job this time - call me silly but I'm too old to couch surf while job searching (she says, when that's exactly what I did 3 years ago before going to Korea, but I digress).
I am sad to be leaving Mom, as it has been a lot of fun living with her. We soak in the hot tub, watch AWFUL movies like Cowboys Vs Dinosaurs, have great food (or not, if we are fasting), and haven't had any arguments or fights about anything. I have told her that when I look for a house, I'll be sure to either make sure she has a room at the other side of the house or have a mother-in-law tiny house in the back yard. I almost have her convinced to be a snowbird when she retires. Hehe. I'll also be closer to KS to see Gma and Gpa, and perhaps will even be able to plan some movie-watching weekends with my friend in OK City. Of course, there shall be monthly bestie meet-ups and Ana and I will be able to meet for Mexican food once again! So, all in all, I'm looking forward to starting yet another new chapter in life. I just hope my back heals up enough that I can actually pack my car - it's REALLY bad today... getting off the couch has been a study in PAIN.
Anywhoo, that's what has been going on lately. I'm prepared for a new adventure and happy to be going back to a place where I'm already known and (mostly) accepted. Going to miss having family around, but we all knew that this wasn't going to be a permanent thing for me. Riverton is great for some, but I never felt like I was a "part" of the town. So hi ho, hi ho, it's off to Texas I go.
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