Counting my blessings

I'm having a glass of champagne right now, wanna know why?  Because I'm celebrating my first day at work!  Yeah, that's right!  I'm a working girl again!  Wait, that didn't sound right.  What I mean is, I'm once again a member of the workforce, after seven long months of unemployment I'm back on the job!

Hell yeah I took a picture of myself before I went to work this morning!

My staffing agency called me about the job a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would be interested.  That always cracks me up, asking if I'm interested.  At this point all I cared about is whether or not the pay was decent - I was so desperate I would have done just about anything.  However, I didn't tell them that.  I always politely listened, saying "Hmm, actually, yes I think that's something I could do well."  As if beggars could be choosers.

They submitted my resume and the company called, saying they wanted to interview me.  I was pleased but I remembered the last interview I had where they passed on me because there was no connection, and the one before that where they said I was overconfident and not meek enough.  Since my unemployment benefits were running out August 1st I knew this one was do or die.  So I wore a slate jacket, a seafoam green tank top and light brown pants so I wouldn't seem too severe and I wore my hair loose so I would seem more approachable - my previous interviews I wore a black suit and pulled my hair away from my face in either a low bun or a tightly controlled ponytail.  I was going to connect with these people if it killed me!  

I got to the interview and nearly dropped my pen when I saw a very familiar name ahead of mine on the sign-in sheet.  It was the girl I replaced at my old company!  She had promoted out of the position but was still with the company (Kesha keeps me up on all the work gossip) but I guess she was out looking because her department was getting restructured.  While I didn't blame her for that, I wanted this job!  Of the two of us, I was the one who was unemployed, not her!  Right then I decided to be the most approachable, meek yet capable and professional person I could.  It wasn't personal, but I had to get that job.

I knew I had a leg up when the lady interviewing me walked out and she had natural hair!  Margaret (not her real name - duh) definitely would not be able to talk about natural hair!  Now all I had to do was figure out how to work it in without being obvious or overeager.  

The interview went well - it's for the front desk and is nearly identical to what I did at my old job, nothing special.  I emphasized how easy it would be for me to jump right in and how I would need next to no training and how my goal in life would be to make her life easy and help her in any and every way possible.  I laid it on thick while trying not to seem as desperate as I was.  At the end of the interview she asked the customary "Do you have any questions for me?"  I hesitated, wondering if it was appropriate to talk hair in an interview but then I figured I had nothing to lose. "Just one.  How long have you been natural?"

Jackpot!!  Her eyes lit up and we talked for another ten minutes about hair and how great natural hair is and how free she felt since she stopped using relaxers.  I told her about Curly Nikki and Teri and how great it would be if I got the job and we could talk hair!  No subtlety here - my unemployment was about to run out!

A few days later, I got called for a second interview and again Margaret had been there before me!  I was still competing against her!  I found out that she had narrowed it down to three and would make her decision the next day, as she'd interviewed Margaret in the morning, me in the afternoon and the final candidate the next morning.  I pulled out my last weapon - my letter of recommendation from my former supervisor and I flat-out told her I wanted the job and I wanted her to pick me.  No shame, y'all.

But it paid off!  I got the job and today was my first day!  It was so weird to set my alarm, shower before two in the afternoon and get dressed in something other than a t-shirt and yoga pants.  Drew is home right now and he poured me a bowl of cereal this morning and made my lunch for me.  When I got off work tonight we had a celebratory glass of champagne and I told him about my day, that for once didn't consist of chasing after the dog or laying on the sofa feeling sorry for myself.

It's pretty much a match made in heaven - my office is in a great area, it's not far from home and the girl that relieves me for lunch loves Burn Notice!  It's only been one day but what a difference a day makes.  I feel good and I'm relishing that!  I'm so very thankful to have gotten this position and I'm getting on my knees in prayer tonight to thank God for my wonderful blessings.

If I hadn't been unemployed these past seven months I wouldn't have been able to complete my miscarriage workup.  The appointments revolve around your cycle and being able to have the freedom to go in whenever I needed to was a blessing.  

Receiving unemployment benefits was a blessing as well.  Because of that and careful planning and spending, our lifestyle has not been disrupted.  Not once did we receive the pink notices from the utility companies for 'interruption of service.'  All our bills were paid on time and we were even able to pay several of them off.  

Drew's travel, while an incredible strain on our relationship, has allowed us to go down to having one car.  Having one less car payment, insurance payment and one less gas tank to fill has enabled us to weather this time without too much trauma.

A moment of silence for the sexy sportscar.

We'll miss you always.

However, we are blessed because having one car is a choice, not an obligation.  There are tons of people who have to have one car because they can't afford another one - those who have to figure it out because there is no other option.  Drew and I are incredibly blessed and we need to thank God in Heaven for that.

God has kept us in the palm of His hand this entire time and I'm sorry to say that I didn't keep sight of that.  I doubted, I was scared that it wouldn't work out and I worried about what was going to happen once I stopped receiving unemployment.  In my limited understanding, I was afraid.  I'm only human and I lacked faith.  Getting this job at this time has made me realize that even though I didn't fully get it, God was watching over me.  Over us.  And for that I'm so humbled and thankful.

I'm thankful that I had to set my alarm for 6am this morning.  I'm thankful that I had food for my lunch.  I'm thankful that I have a car to take me to work.  I'm thankful that I have a husband who will fix my lunch for me and that he is committed to our marriage.  I'm thankful that I had the free time to see a doctor to try to find a reason for my miscarriages, that I didn't have to try and juggle multiple appointments with other obligations.  He told me when I needed to come in and not once was there a schedule conflict.  I'm thankful for that.  Whatever happens from here forward is in God's hands and I must remember that His plan is better than anything I could have come up with on my own.

I don't believe in coincidence.  I don't believe in random-ness.  I'm not trying to shove my beliefs in anyone's face nor am I saying that my way is right.  Whatever keeps you from kicking puppies is all right in my book, I'm just saying this is how I get down.  God's hand is working in my life, plain and simple.  I recognize that and I'm thankful for it.    

God is great, all the time.  All the time.