My Story

So this my attempt at literary greatness....jk.  Actually I know that this will only be read by a few people, and that is fine.  I'm doing this as a sort of outlet, to have a place to vent (other than to my poor husband), a way to talk myself into feeling better about my situation, and hopefully eventually have a posting that says that I got a paying job.  I say paying, because I have a job- actually a career- my family, my faith, but it doesn't help the money situation. 
I love my career.  I love my family.  I love staying at home with my kids.  I am also looking forward to finding a job.  I am looking forward to having something to talk to my family about other than how many poopy diapers I changed today.  With that being said, let me share a little about my history.
I met my husband the summer after high school.  I was thinking of "taking a year off" and then going to school for either cummunications or some sort of medical program (ie medical assistant, emt).  Well that "year off" is now going on 17 years.  We married a year after we met and I moved to where he lived.  School was the furthest thing from my mind.  I had a couple of little jobs, baby sitting, at a photo lab, but nothing to write home about.  I was happy and loving my new role as a wife.  Then I got a bank job.  I was good at it.  I enjoyed it and there were many oppurtunities to move up, and I was planning on taking full advantages of them.............   Then we got a big surprise, our daughter.  I worked right up until a week from my due date and made the very hard decision to stay at home with her.  I loved it.  I cried the day she went to kindergarden.  We tried to have more, but it just didn't happen (that in itself is a long story).  So I got into the volunteer mode.  I loved being a part of the school and I got to see my baby girl all the time.   Then I got sick.  I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  I started getting daily migraines.  It was awful.  It was about that time that we thought about moving.  The real estate market was at it's highest in that area and my neurologist said that there was a 50% chance that I would feel better in a drier, higher altitude climate. 
It was not an easy decision to make.  We would be leaving behind family and wonderful friends.  However, we decided to put the house up for sale and see what happens.  Well, what happened was that it sold in a day, for sale by owner.  I know, it's unheard of in this current market.
So we moved to the Rocky Mountains.  Within a month, my headaches went down from daily to weekly, then from weekly to monthly, and so on until finally only every so often will I get a full blown migraine.  I found two wonderful doctors.  One helped me get rid of the Epstein Barr virus that I had for years, and the other diagnosed me with the culprit to all my problems (including infertility) as having Celiac Disease.  To make this very long story short, 15 months ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who is almost (by one week) 11 years younger than his sister. 
So back to the job front, before Van (actually only a couple of months before we got the big surprise-hey you're prego) I started a part time job.  A very part time job.  I answered an ad on craigslist for someone who loves books and magazines.  I would be responsible for merchandising magazines and books at my local grocery store.  Yeah, I got a job.  I could help pay for my daughter's braces, and once in a while go to a real hairdresser instead of Great clips or cost cutters. 
Then Van came along.  I had never been sicker in whole life.  I was sick for 5 straight months.  All the while, I continued to merchandise.   By the time I was 8 months along, I could no longer do my job.  It involved a lot of lifting, and bending over and my belly just kept getting in the way. 
So I quit.  Once again, I was a full time SAHM.  Van was born and I was so happy to stay at home with him.  He wasn't easy.  He didn't sleep and ate all the time.  And then when he was 8 weeks old, his Daddy got to stay home with him too.  Yes, that's right, he lost his job.  It only took him a week to get a new job, but then 2 days before he was supposed to start he broke his ankle.  He needed surgery.  He couldn't go back to work.  Fortunately his boss held his job open for him.  This job was at a local auto body repair shop and would cut his commute time by 2/3.  It would be wonderful to have him so close, especially when the roads get bad in the winter. 
His being home for 10 weeks turned out to be blessing in disguise.  Even though we finacially were strapped, taxed, and living on credit, we made it through.  He got to bond with his baby boy.  He also was there when I needed him the most.  You see, Van started having seizures.  His first was right before he lost his job, the second was right after he lost his job.  So I had support for all the hospital visits and tests that would then follow (even if that support was on crutches).  It turns out that Van has epilepsy.  Once on medication, his seizures are controlled.  So he is doing great.  So that brings us to our delemia.  When he got fired, we signed up for the Cobra plan through his old work-which was a large shop.  When you have the Cobra plan, you pay full price for your insurance which ended up being an additional 400-500/month.  Then when he started his new job, we kept the plan because it was the same price as what he was offered and better coverage.  However, his new place is smaller, it is in a more rural area, and pays less.  The stress so much less, so the trade off was worth it.  We though, need to make up for those 10 weeks of no income as well as the difference in insurance.  So I decided, I would find a part time job.  My DH's parents moved into to town, so Van would be with someone who will love him and take good care of him. 
Finding a part time job is harder than I anticipated.  I am now in month 3 of actively trying.
That is where I stand now, underqualified, job less, with a killer resume that got me in the door of two places, but that is it.  So the SAGA continues......