First Day on the Job

Well, kind of anyway. It was actually only a four hour training session, but it was really fun. I dialed into their system, and spent an hour talking AGAIN about the fact that my environment must be absolutely quiet, no noise, and that we MUST have a corded phone AND headset....blah, blah.... Then she turned us loose for almost 3 hours to do self-paced study, learning about the company, how they work, who they work for and how to get around the web center. I finished an hour early with a 100% on my quiz, so I just went upstairs and got something to eat. You know, there's really something to be said for being able to work at home. I'm still a little apprehensive about whether or not I'll be successful working for J.Crew—they're not really my style, so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to sell and up-sell. But I'll give it a try. It's only a seasonal position, so in January I'll be able to apply for another program.

In other news....

The last few weeks have been a crazy ride. One of my favorite aunts passed away on the 6th of this month. That was pretty hard. She had lung cancer, and it metastasized to her brain for the second time. They couldn't do any more radiation, or it would destroy her brain, so she opted for brain surgery. That was four weeks ago. I saw her before she went in for the surgery, but because we were all sick and I didn't want to make HER sick, we didn't see her in ICU. Then they moved her to a hospice, but we don't really know why, because her doctor said that he would find a way to keep her in the hospital until she was ready to come home. He never said anything to the family after she died. She was only in the hospice less than 24 hours before she started having heart problems. She had a very sad life, though, so I'm glad she's home with Jesus. I just wish I could have seen her before she left. Then came the issues with my uncle. Sometimes I wish my mouth wasn't redeemed so I could tell you what I really think of him. Plus I don't want anyone to see that I'm not as pristine on the inside as I am on the outside. I did, however, learn how to sign it, so sometimes I can say it and no one will know ;-) Anyway, long story short, this uncle is a real winner, and decided to use some family heirlooms to try to extort money from my Mom and her remaining two sisters. And if that wasn't enough, there's an issue with my sister—we think he did something to several of us when we were little, my sister having the worst of it. But no one remembers anything, so we can't prove it. But he's still creepy. Anyway, my sister went into a full-fledged panic attack over it (and rightfully so). We ended up getting her a valium and a muscle relaxer and hiding her in the nursery with Adriana the whole time. We just kept telling my uncle that she had to run an errand. Then we had to get her out of the church basement and to the car without her being seen. We waited until they went out for a smoke break, I grabbed her out of the nursery and rushed her up the stairs and into Pastor's office. That allowed Ben time to get Adri and her things together and then I put him in the office with her just in case. We managed to get her home safe and sound, though. After all that, I felt like I could probably run security for the President!!!!! One of the things that really touched me was the small bouquet that my aunt from California sent. It had three pink roses, arranged from tallest to shortest, representing the three sisters that are left, and one white rose tucked in the back to represent my aunt that died. The card read, "Sisters Forever." I burst into tears when I read that.

My mom, her younger sister, my cousin, and the bouquet. I could only get two of them to smile at the same time.

My mom and her sister in California haven't spoken to one another for almost 30 years!!!! But when my uncle, their older brother (who was also involved in this whole little not speaking thing) passed away last December, he told them it was time to give it up and get over it. And they did. My mom and her sister have spent more time on the phone in the last month than I think they have in their lives!! There have been a lot of death in that family lately--there are only three sisters left out of seven children. But there's been a lot of healing too. So between that, Ben's anything but encouraging job search and our bankruptcy hearing on the 17th, it's been a pretty rough month. The confusing thing is that everything we've been hearing from the Lord has been that He will bring us back from desolation and restore our fortunes and our joy—"praise and honor in every land where [we] were put to shame." "They will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord....I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow." I know that just because He says it now doesn't mean it's going to happen NOW. But this has been such a rough road...it's hard to believe that He'll do what He says.

This is what the LORD says:
"Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for your work will be rewarded,"
declares the LORD.
"They will return from the land of the enemy.

17 So there is hope for your future,"
declares the LORD.
"Your children will return to their own land.

...hmmm...I wonder if that means He'll be moving us back to Colorado Springs ;-) (tee hee)

posted by Brandi at 4:49 PM | 1 comment(s)