I had to drop most of my odd jobs and get a regular job for the first time since the kids were little.
Joy and Rapture.
I have a job. Actually, I have three. Wife, Mom, and Homemaker. That's not including the writing and artsy stuff. But budgets need to be fed, so I had to go out into the workforce.
Being out of the loop for nearly twenty years (not to mention the loss of physical stamina) limited my options. Yet I managed to find a job within the first two weeks of looking.
I can now add pharmaceuticals delivery driver to my jobs list. Basically, I deliver prescriptions to customers.
Egad, I'm a drug runner.
It doesn't pay much, but it pays, and I can still fit the hours into my life without too much interference. I wanted something part-time that would still allow me to spend time with my husband and son in the mornings, and still allow me time to cook dinner and spend time with my daughter in the evenings.
The pharmacies loved me, and I was soon the most popular drug-runner in my area.
Three weeks in, the pharmacist gave me a warning. The company I worked for would be dropped for another company.
Three weeks and my job was already in jeopardy.
Now what do I do?
The pharmacist gave me a contact number for their corporation since she told them that her branch didn't want to lose me. Apparently, all of the stores I worked for told their corporation the same thing.
I took the paper and called the corporation.
At first, I felt like I was betraying my boss, but then corporate said something that rubbed me the wrong way. My boss was supposed to have told me about the switch over a week ago. He never said a word.
I called the corporation. They confirmed that they were switching carriers and I left my name and number with the corporation, who said they would pass my information on to the new carrier.
That was Friday. By Monday, I called again to confirm that my information was passed on. It wasn't. I also found out that the new carrier was starting that day, so I got their information instead and contacted them immediately.
I still felt an inkling of betrayal on my part for calling, but I hadn't heard from my boss and the new carrier wanted me right away. I had less than ninety minutes to apply and get accepted for employment.
It was in the middle of this process that I finally got a call from my boss, telling me I was out of a job. He tried to offer me other work, but it was about jobs we'd already discussed that wouldn't be a good fit for me. Guilt alleviated. I declined the work he offered, yet I left the conversation with that particular bridge intact- just in case.
I was laid off, then hired within an hour. Crazy!
So here I am, doing the same job with different people- and different apps.
The new guys are nice and helpful, but the tech is driving me nuts. They're giving me only a few days to learn the software, and I'm getting stressed out over it. One app and one website on my phone at all times, and the app is taking me forever to learn. It slows down my deliveries because I have to add all this information on the job, and makes me deliver much later than I used to.
I am never late.
Normally I'm home by four o'clock at the latest. That night I didn't get home until almost seven.
The big boss spoke to me about the delivery times, and understood that I was on a learning curve...but I needed to master the app, and soon.
Geez, no pressure.
Honestly, I truly thought I was going to lose this job. If things were better financially, I would have gladly given up the position. But I was was in the proverbial rock and hard place, so I did the only thing I could do.
Pray.
Pray that the pain in my aching joints would go away. Pray that I get the jobs done on time. And I prayed to master that stupid techy app. My husband prayed with me the next morning about it too.
When my phone pinged for my new set of deliveries, I actually winced. Then I went to work.
I had a few issues, but I wound up mastering the app and getting my jobs done on time. Not as early as I wanted, but within the time frame they required. And the only reason things went so well is that I prayed. I still have no idea how I finally understood the tech, but I did and I'm grateful for it.
Now I pray that I'll retain that mastery when I go to work today.
But I still want my old job back. I miss being an at-home wife and mother.
This is my new chaos. I went from scheduling appointments and childcare into scheduling homemaking around my new job. It isn't easy. I still feel a strong godly pull to stay home.
But it's what this drug-running, homemaking wife and artistic writer mom has to do- at least for now.
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