I went from a cushy work from home gig doing what I wanted, when I wanted for the most part. My ex and I had spent 16 years growing a business that was finally allowing us/me to finally have some financial and tie freedom.
So when he left I was thrown into the workforce.
But I had boundaries, still have boundaries, on my work hours.
I worked 4 days a week at one job and then found a night time job as a server at the local Thai place. I worked 42-60 hours a week.
My bills got paid.
We got to travel.
Work hard, play hard.
We had a blast, but boy that first year was crazy.
Next up came year two. I not longer left my day job at the dog kennel I was working at to babysit dogs our of my home, then the Thai place closed down.
I made it 3 months before I got notice I was losing "homestead exemption" on the home I was living in and paying for; yes, my ex had contacted the local property appraiser, letting them know he didn't live there anymore. MY MONTHLY MORTGAGE PAYMENT WHEN UP BY $500 OVERNIGHT!
That's when I went to Facebook and answered a job for tree sales; I would become what is known as a "walker". I would spend the next 3 months walking 10,000 - 20,000 steps a day knocking doors and selling tree work.
I will say this about tree sales: when it pays, it PAYS.
Anyway it was while walking for the second tree company that I was poached by a solar company to walk for them.
that lasted all of a month or two before I realized this was not the game for me.
I then took 5 weeks off and spent it in NH doing a little side work for friends and renting out a room to a traveling nurse back at the FL home.
Year 2 being single was coming to a close and I got a call from the dog kennel, would I want to come back and teach dog kindergarten, they had a much better name for the program but essentially I did arts and crafts and reinforced the basics with dogs, who at this point intime becoming my favorite people on the planet; calling dogs people is a blog post all its own for another time.
So year 3 single started as me being trained as I trained dogs to pass their Canine Good Citizen Test. What a fun job it was. I helped dogs balance on balance beams, jump over poles, sit still at parks and not chase the ducks at the river. While a very rewarding job it is hard work training dogs and this almost 50 year old was having major surgery so 8 months in, I said goodbye from the dog training world and began a year of decline.
That's all I can really call it, starting a few months before the 3 year anniversary of being left by my ex of 27 years 8 months and 2 weeks, I had a complication to my initial surgery and was rushed into emergency surgery just a week before a dog sitting job in NYC. That was the last of the last for me that 4th year being single. I'm not sure what happened as I am still finishing it up but I do know that it has been a year of shedding the old and stepping into something new.
My employment has settled down as I am back in bookkeeping/accounting world, this time I've learned about taxes!! Yes I am really excited for this new skill.
I am still watching dogs in my home. I just had 6 dogs at my place this last weekend and am in the middle of a 2 week 3x a day dog walking gig; so that little side gig has worked out pretty good, praise the Lord.
And that is what this is about, praising the Lord.
It's about a life that doesn't give up and does what it takes to get the job done.
Stick to it, stay close to God.
My pastor shared the story of Mary and Martha.
Be Mary. If you'd don't know the story, you can read it in the Bible.
Stay close to Jesus friends, remember God's hand is in your life, look for it and cling to His steadfastness, His never changing steadfast love for you.
{unedited version}
xoxo
-m
