I am going back to work

baymule

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I start a new job today. Yup, going back to work. Last year was a financial disaster. The truck went into the shop 4 times, the bills were $2,000+ and the last breakdown was $4500. The car broke down, more $$$, and the Kawasaki mule broke down-just the parts were $2,000. With the first breakdown, we put it on a credit card to spread out the cost over several months, which normally would work out just fine. but the hits just kept coming. At one time, the only thing running was the tractor and we joked about riding that to town.

In November, my husband had cataract surgery. There were 3 tiers of lenses. The first tier, Medicare and the supplement would pay 100%. The 2nd tier corrected a little more, the 3rd tier corrected the stigmatism and long and short distance vision. He wanted thee 3rd tier so badly, but was going to settle for tier #1 because of cost. This was a one time surgery, no going back later to redo it and get the upgrade. I insisted that he get Tier #3 because it would improve the rest of his life. The price tag was $5,000. Yeah, ouch.

ONE crisis we could have handled, even two, but we kept getting sh!t at and hit.

We have argued about me getting a job to get things paid off. We are making more than the payments, but owing that much money puts me in a very bad mood. It will take too long to get things back to where I am happy. We did not want to sell assets and now with the stock market in the toilet, I wouldn't take the loss anyway. I am not one to dither about whining, so finally I made an appointment for a job interview and TOLD my husband, this is what I am going to do. I was hired. I go in today from 1-4 for training.

I will be working in an assisted living facility in a nearby town. With the covid-19 virus going around, what a stroke of luck. I will be in a lockdown situation and not having the public breathing, coughing and sneezing in my face all day. I figure I will work for the next 6 months or so. It will be hard, we are raising 50 Cornish Cross chicks, 2 feeder pigs, a big garden and I will have lots to do. BJ is on board and will do all he can to help me. We will get this done.
 

flowerbug

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I worked from 5:45 AM to 2 PM yesterday, off today, then two 12 hour shifts. The concrete floors are a killer. I have to find scrubs today, hope I can find a store open.

good shoes are critical, hard floors play hell on feet, ankles, knees, lower back... all the way up, the old song _the Ankle Bone is Connected to the ..._ is really true. working at the library in bad shoes helped me figure out how important they are. if you need to do stretches and some exercises (haha, yeah i know) it can help too. hang in there you know you got us rooting for ya tootsie! :)
 

baymule

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Worked 9 hours today. This is hard work, medications have a time schedule and there’s tons of meds. Then I have to stop to help the cook, we have to take meals to the residents in their rooms. Then I go help clean the kitchen and do dishes. I clean the dining room. Even with the lockdown, there are 3 Alzheimer’s patients that don’t understand stay in your room, so we sit them at different tables. Do laundry, dump trash do more meds. Then lunch. Rinse repeat. Laundry and run to the end of the hall to the sweet mentally incapacitated man that wants to know if I have finished his laundry yet. When I leave the room he shouts I LOVE YOU.

Got home, the ewe lambs that we separated from the ewes yesterday we’re back together. DH and I separated them again and did a better job of attaching the half cow panel that was the separation piece. Got Sheep squared away, fed chickens. Trotted out new 5 gallon chicken waterer for meat chickens and put it in the tractor. Moved 44 chicks out of the tubs on the porch. Fed and watered them. Need to feed horses.

DH got 2650 pounds of Feed today, 33 bags. I got to go unload some at the Sheep barn, the rest at the horse barn. I won’t let him help, he’s been sick with the crud. I am freakin tired. I bet I sleep like a rock tonight. Supper can be a bowl of cereal.
 

baymule

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There are 21 cases of Covid-19 in my county as of this morning. One 91 year old man has died. I'm also thinking that along with insufficient training, a "work the mule to death" attitude, and a killer virus whirling around, maybe I just need to stay home and lay low. Raising the feeder pigs, Cornish Cross chickens and a big (hopefully) garden plus all my other farm duties, IS a full time job. Add 12 hour shifts on concrete with very little to none sit down time, exhaustion, and I see a weakened immunity system coming at me like a freight train. Hmmmm……..

Thanks for this discussion y'all. Actually talking to someone that is not my husband helps me put this in proper perspective and I don't like what I am coming up with.
 

farmerjan

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I think you have made the decision already, and that is right for you and they just don't know it yet. Things like telling you that you cannot take your "lunch" break is just pushing it past the limit. Realizing that they are understaffed would make you feel like you should do some extra if they were treating you decent... telling you that you "have to" is just asking for trouble.
I realize that the idea of working was to help pay off things that hit you guys right between the eyes. But yeah, as you are realizing, this can compromise your immune system also, and that would be worse in the long run. Your husband needs you healthy, and there will be other things that you might be able to do to help whittle down the debt from all the repairs this past year.
 

baymule

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My Daddy was WW2 navy 8 year veteran and he used it.

Would y’all believe I went in this morning to honor my commitment and somebody else had been called in to work my shift? My schedule had not changed, no text, call or notification of any sort. I was angry, self terminated on the spot and walked out.
 
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