Enough already!!

There comes a time when one simply has to realize that they are doing the best they can in their particular circumstance. And actually, sometimes one is beating one's self up when in reality, they are doing quite well. By the time one adds all the "ought to's" of life, it's amazing that we don't all go slit our wrists. Frequent ought to's: Lose weight, Exercise, Professional Development, Community Service, Grow your own Organic Garden. Ack! When do you do the laundry, shop, cook, clean the bathroom?? It all comes down to priorities of time and money and it is very easy to get distracted from what is a real and necessary priority to something that is a really good thing in itself but takes away from the real & necessary things. Then one gets stressed and irritable because there is one is being pulled in so many different directions that one ends up with no direction.

Thought for the day:

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. William James

Over 50 and unemployed

Not JMM or me but a friend, JH. JH lost his job 2 years ago and it took almost a year for him to find another. The job was in Kentucky and they have been unable to sell the house here in Texas. I guess it is just as well that the house hasn't sold because JH has been laid off again. He got a pretty good severance package from the first lay off but that is not the case this time because of the short tenure of service. It is anybody's guess what will happen now. His wife, SH, has not worked in many years but maybe she can find something because the chances of his finding another job now are really slim. God help us.

Goal 2009 Update #10

I did a preliminary check to see if we will be able to make the extra principal payment with the May 1 house payment and the answer is Yes! As of May 1, we will be down to $50,530. The second financial goal for this year is to increase the emergency fund from $6000 to $7000 by adding $50 per paycheck and I am happy to say that is going well also. So far so good!

It's hard to be a mockingbird,

This time of year there is just no rest for the weary if you are a mockingbird. There is a mate to find and attract, a nest to build, and above all, territory to defend. Morning, noon, and night there are songs to be sung to mark one's territory and intruders that must be driven away. As with humans, there is just no reasoning with the wife once she has determined where home is going to be. Our resident mockingbird has decided that home is going to be behind the geraniums on the plant stand by the back door. Maybe not the wisest choice in the world considering the 3 cats that regularly go in and out that back door but evidently that is where home is going to be. It has been carefully constructed of small twigs and decorated with string. To keep the cats out JMM is putting chicken wire on the back of the stand. I've put out some drier lint in case she wants something soft. So all is ready for the precious eggs. No rest once the eggs hatch either--babies to feed. We are looking forward to watching the mockingbird family expand.

Thought for the day:

Guard well you spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'll be danged if I'll let it get me down.

I have been feeling very down the past couple of days with all the turmoil at work. Unhappy with what is happening, the direction of management, and the firing of a 23 year employee. But I just came to the conclusion today that I am not going to let them make me unhappy. I like taking care of patients and providing help to the nursing and medical staff. I am just going to keep right on taking care of one patient at a time and taking satisfaction from it. If management doesn't like it, well, what's the worst that could happen--I'd get fired and wouldn't have to deal with them ever again. Fine with me.

Oh what a relief it is..

I am home today and it is such a relief to be away from work. The tension is just palpable. Management just keeps piling on more work, now with fewer people. Then there is my unease about working with B. I keep thinking that all I have to do is hang in there until January when the house is paid off but then there is my concern about JMM's job -- what if his employer decides that they don't need to pay a RPh salary to someone doing IT work?? OK, enough worry for today. We are well and together and everything else is secondary. It is a warm spring day, the wildflowers are spectacular, and we have swallows nesting in both the front and back porches.

Thought for the day:

" Preach the Gospel always. If necessary use words." St. Francis of Assisi

The Ax Man Cometh

Yesterday they fired 3 pharmacists, all from the OR, all long time employees. They had done nothing wrong; management just decided that we could do without 3 OR pharmacists. One had been with the company for 23 years and poof, no warning, no option to transfer to a different shift, just escorted out the door. What goes around, comes around though and Pharmacy Directors seem to be fired about every 5 years; I've never been happy to see a director or manager fired but I must admit that I'll have a hidden smile on my face when this bunch's time comes up...if I'm still around.