With or Without ?

With or without? Hmmmm! Thanks to a friend’s recent Facebook entry, I am reminded that as of October, 2009, Lynn and I will have been in Chicagoland for 2 (two) glorious year. I cannot think of a place I would rather be with Lynn than right here by his side.

Our family and friends as much as we love them, will continue to grow older, and be taller (or shorter), wider or thinner, gain hair/loose hair, with or without us. School days for youth march on. Even though we do not have youngsters of our own, family members and friends are happily and sadly in some cases heading back to school.

Family and friends are facing tough decisions on what university or college to attend, anxieties about their new roommates, vocation resolutions, missions, vacations? Will or will they not, have a few vacation days hopped scotched in during the remainder of the year? Again, this will happen with or without us.
My mother, surprised us all this year, by adding an addition to our family tree, by way of a 4-legged, small puppy, named Tuffee (I have probably misspelled his name); of course, Mom did this without us, but we were so happy that she did. My sister, without us, is surviving breast cancer; another is fighting horrid kidney stones and lipotripsy action, without us. A nephew is on a mission in South Africa, another is hitting a mile stone in New York. Our brother-in-law is heading to Iraq. Even though our family and friends are doing things ‘without’ us physically. Our hearts, love, and soul, are 'with them always'.

Our hearts still ache with loss for family and friends who are no longer with us, and whose laughter has been hushed for awhile. WE KNOW we will hear their laughter again, in time. We will continue to work hard, play hard, embrace and absorb life, and love every moment we have in our phase(s) of life.

Our religion continues to be very important to us. Like time, our religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) continues to move on with or without us. We WANT to be on that bus, train, jet, or walk, for the long haul.

Life. Life will happen with or without us. We want to make the most of and cherish ‘our time’ and ‘do it together’. We intend to make the most of it and enjoy it. Whether time flies by in Chicago, or the warm sunny skies of California, or if we find ourselves in another state or back in the dry, but glorious desert state, of Utah or Idaho. Time will always go by, with or without us. WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR THE UPS AND DOWNS, THE SPILLS AND TURNS, AND THE EXHILLERATING RIDE OF LIFE!


-Shelly

At Last !!!

Lynn and I are late with our blog entry because I wanted to wait until the end of the week to post. This week, August 3rd, was my first full work week since my surgery back in December of 2007. The job search has been long and extensive.

I did have a part-time position with the Samaritan Counseling Center from Sept-Dec, but due to the economy and a slow opening, I had to give that position up. I loved working with the Samaritan Counseling Center. I enjoyed driving to Barrington, IL every day (a 45 to 60 minute car ride each way) because of the homey towns, and the great scenery, I drove though. I was always greeted by Rev. (Mary) Tudela [Executive Director] at the Samaritan Counseling Center with warmth, a cheery hello, along with a very comfortable and favorable working environment. I was sad to leave, but I could understand from Mary the circumstances and the reasons why I needed to be let go.

For months, and I mean months, I have been laboring diligently, putting in 4 to 6-hours a day looking for employment. I, along with everyone else in Chicagoland and the nation, were being let go or fired, with entire companies and industries folding. We were all out looking for jobs, a job, any job. The job search was long and arduous. July will go down in the record book, for me, as being the miraculous month. I received a call from PDS (a temporary recruiting agency out of Hartford, CT) and they, along with plenty of others, saw one of my myriads of resumes on the Internet, and wanted to know if I was interested in a temporary position. I was already a client with several temporary agencies throughout DuPage County, but I thought I’d give another agency a whirl, and this was an agency from out-of-state in Connecticut. ** Connecticut is where my sister Denyse and her family live. **

PDS was a magical ‘shoe-like’ Cinderella fit. I was immediately put in touch with my recruiter, Ana, who was personal and professional, along with being a little blunt at times. Ana set me up for an interview with Hartford Insurance Company’s Workers Compensation area for the Midwest. Before you knew it, I had the interview and the good folks at Hartford liked me and *poof*, I was hired. My first official work week with them started on Monday. The job with PDS/Hartford is a 2, possibly 3-month, temporary assignment.

As any employee to a new company will know, the first few days and weeks are trying, exciting, and stressful. My first week was eventful and memorable. I am starting from the ground floor up. This week I filed. Filing is one of the most important actions I can do for a company or government entity, but it is the least of the things I like to do in my profession. However, it is by filing, and Hartford is no exception, I learn about the company. Through filing, I am getting a clearer picture of the claims I file and their important nature. I am meeting and interacting with other professionals at Hartford; therefore this week's job activity has been a blessing in disguise. Another PDS Temp (Nadene) started the same day, the same position, along with the same location I did; so, instead of having that constant ‘deer in the headlight’ stare, it has been a breeze. The two of us starting at the same time, cubical mates, rattling things around in our heads together are great. It has also helped immensely with the great supervisors Nadene and I have to report to at Hartford.

Excuse me, did I tell you Hartford Insurance is only five (5) minutes away from where we live!! It’s another miracle

I am back in the work saddle again. Working 8:00am-4:30pm, Mon-Friday. Lynn is happy and ecstatic as well. Lynn has been holding down the fort for so long due to our move to Illinois, my surgeries and recovery period, and then while unemployed. I am eager and excited to put my shoulder to the wheel and get our lives moving back on track.

This entry has been quite an epilog for such a quick synopsis, and I’m sorry. But, I was so excited and I just had to let you know what was happening in our lives and my life now.

-Shelly