A New Chapter

I took a few months off this winter from writing because I frankly did not have anything to say.  Other than annoying problems that everyone has in life, I chose to spare you of those juicy petty details.

Now I will confess my fear of boxes.  Not the cardboard boxes that helps people move on to better places. The boxes of confinement, a fear of being closed in and restricted from opportunity to progress.  Set a boundary and I am bound to test the limit.  Not as an act of defiance, but an act of seeking a challenge beyond the boundary.  It's just how I've always been since I can remember.

It's what's inside that counts, not what it contains right!?!

In September I studied to get my Nursing Assistant Certification because I saw it as a key to open the doors to the basement of the Healthcare Industry.  I figured to familiarize myself with the fundamental cornerstone of Healthcare (as a CNA), then climb up the stairs at whatever rate seems ideal, finally reaching whichever floor I could find, and settle in a place to make a difference in peoples lives.

... from the ground on up
...starting in the creepy basement

During my CNA clinical, I sampled a work place with potential opportunities in different levels of care.  I liked what I saw and chased it.  I passed my written and practical exam, waited an excruciating month for word of whether I was acceptable to have a Nurse Aid Certificate, then finally received it in the mail after a long hard day at work.  I cried when I opened my mailbox.  I finally had a piece of paper to unlock a new chapter.  Then work life threw me a curve.

little piece of paper in the sky
how I need you to be mine
so my career ideas can fly

While chasing that little piece of paper, I started to get attached to my job that I already had.  Having finally gotten to know the residents that live at the facility well enough to make them laugh with my crazy little life story of the day, I was getting wrapped up.  What's more, I was coming out of my shell with my co-workers.  Something I have never done in my work life before. Tug on my heartstrings.

After 3 months of playing "cat and mouse" with the potential employer in my sights along with a number of conditional hoops to jump through, I took the offer upon presentation.  My decision was not easy, as I had to think of my husband's and my future.  I took the new company's offer solely on the opportunities and paths my future could take.  It was hard to leave my old job, with residents that I connected with, and the hard working passionate workers that I worked alongside.  I cried when I typed my letter of resignation.  Not many people understood why I was so emotional about moving on.  I poured some of my soul out to share with the people I helped care for and those who gave care beside me.  Goodbyes are never fun.  I will make an effort to go visit.  I promised too many old folks to come back and visit with my word, not that I ever would have the intention to say things I don't mean, because I always strive to be as genuine as possible.

Leaving my warm fuzzy lined shoe box and onward to my new unexplored refrigerator box. Sometimes the only way to grow is to be brave and step outside of the shoe box.  Thanks for sticking with me!