Day 26 - A Day in My Life

Day 26, January 26, 2020

A day in my life...makes me sad thinking about 'how' life once looked. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but some days - I'd much rather be working than sitting at home feeling like I don't contribute much anymore to the wellbeing of my family. 

Since 2005, I worked 40 plus hours in the Behavioral Health field as a trainer, facilitator, Guest Speaker, Advocate, Mentor, and a Certified Peer Support Specialist on a weekly basis. I was employed by the State of Texas working at one of the nine state hospitals. I held many positions at the State level in this field. That all came to a S T O P in the early part of 2016. It was like screeching tires STOP!  After several days and night stay in the hospital due to extreme asthma exacerbations that would come up out of nowhere - I was told by the A pulmonologist, that I needed to quit work because of the severity of these health issues. I have been working since I was 13 years old. My first paying job was at Dairy Queen. (gotta love those brown derby cones!!!) How was I going to quit working? We can't afford to lose my source of income - I was making almost $67,000 a year plus benefits. All I've known most of my teen years and all my adult life is work, work, work. After all, isn't that how the American Dream is supposed to be built? by working...and now the doctor is telling me that I can't!? 

Since the onset of Thyroid Cancer issues back in 2013, quality of life had already begun to take a toll - mentally, emotionally and physically. But I just kept on moving...the doctors would say one thing and I'd reply, 'ok - what do we do, let's get it done'. This was my mindset from 2013 - I never looked back, I didn't get down in the mulligrubs - I took it in stride...I cut my hours back from full time to part-time - that is until that awful day in June 2016. I went in for a routine procedure and ended up being on life support, went code blue 3 different times and had the most horrific, traumatic hospital stay in my life for the next 5 months. I was on a liquid diet for over 9 months and learned that they removed 2 ribs as a result of that routine procedure going awry. 

During that hospital stay in the summer of 2016 - I was deemed 100% disabled.  I could no longer work for a living. Today, I still live with issues from the Thyroid Cancer and THAT routine procedure going terribly wrong in the summer of 2016. 

A pocket I created for a junk journal

My days don't look the same anymore as they did when I was collecting a paycheck.  I now have the opportunity of crafting when I want to. I make beautiful gifts from my heart and soul for others. This could like junk journals, loaded envelopes, cards, tags, altered art, or mixed media projects. I can walk with my ancestors by way of Genealogy. I can attend classes at the local library that will help me with my genealogy journey. I now have the opportunity of teaching others the basics of starting their own research and the possibility of creating their own family tree. I can meet and establish new relationships with friends and family members. I can exercise by taking short walks around cemeteries while learning about family history. I can go to the local Natatorium and swim laps when I want to. I'm able to work with people who home school to bring crafting and genealogy into their lesson planning. I can navigate the newness of becoming a blogger. 

My end goal is to bring my lived experiences, my desire to craft and my genealogy expertise all into one place encouraging others that it's ok to be okay even if life doesn't look like it once did. We have the power to create our worth...

Life for me looks much different now on any given day...even though it's dictated by health issues quite frequently, THEY haven't stopped me from living! 

Today, my title has changed. I am now called a Domestic Engineer! 

Remember to smile, yours may be the only one somebody sees today. Share a little kindness, won't you? 

~~Heart to Heart Soul Creations

h2hsc2020