Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. To me this was quintessential Mattie! Mattie received this knight costume from his support team. Mattie put on all the items and was hobbling around his bedroom dressed as a knight. I called him 'Sir Mattie!' I don't know if you can appreciate just how full our home was by that point in Mattie's treatment journey. There were toys and items piling up everywhere. In fact, in front of Mattie on the floor was an aero mattress. When Mattie was home between hospital admissions, this was where I slept. Mattie was connected to IVs at night and needed assistance and supervision. It was amazing what we endured, but we would do it all over again, because our goal was to save Mattie's life.
Quote of the day: Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. ~ Voltaire
We have many stressors in our life. But one of which I hadn't been talking about was Peter's job. Peter has had quite a time of it! Peter worked for a company for 15 years, but in 2019 it was acquired. What commonly happens in such transitions, is people lose their jobs. This was a huge change in our lives right around the time of the pandemic, because that particular company was part of our lives when Mattie was diagnosed with cancer and then died. Losing this connection, was significant, because it felt like Peter wasn't just losing a job, but we were losing another link and connection to Mattie.
So in the midst of COVID, Peter was actively looking for a job. I can assure you this was a very difficult time in our lives, and given the state of emergency we were all living under, no one was thinking about hiring. In addition to that, Peter had to learn about the art of finding a job through electronic means. Because think about it...... over 15 years ago, people found jobs through actual networking and with paper resumes. By 2019/2020, that methodology was old hat and we had to learn the new art form of finding a job. Peter got quickly up to speed about the art of showcasing one's self on Linked In. Gone are the days of recruiters working for the individual looking for a job. Recruiters are instead hired by companies to find quality job candidates. So the challenge is how do you attract a recruiter's attention on-line?! I am sure Peter could write a chapter on the science of this alone.
In the Fall of 2020, Peter was hired into a home health/hospice company based in Tennessee. Thankfully he could work remotely and was plugging away until June of 2022. Again, a pivotal moment in our lives, when the investors of the company decided they needed to cut costs and eliminated Peter's role. With the intention of putting the company in a downhill spiral. So in two years time, Peter has been faced with the crisis of finding a job, not just once, but TWICE.
Though I must admit, the mechanics of finding a job, weren't as daunting to us now as they were in 2019. Peter knew the process and what he had to do, but of course being without employment is very difficult financially and emotionally. We have huge expenses such as a mortgage, managing a household, caring for my parents, and the list goes on! So you can imagine the underlying stress Peter has been living under on a daily basis.
In December of 2022, a job opportunity presented itself with a company based in Seattle, Washington. Peter has been in conversation with this company since then, had all sorts of interviews, and this week even went to Seattle to meet with key people.
No comments:
Post a Comment