Re: Happy Birthday Darlena!

[Guest guest]

GOD BLESS YOU, ALWYIN!

Thank you.... Your making me cry - tears of joy! Weeee, I'm sliding into 44 yrs

old.

I was out doing laundry and had left my cell phone at home. My hsb had called to

wish me a happy birthday (I thought he'd forgot it was tomorrow) and that he'd

left something under his side of the bed for me. (I found it - it's a paperbag

stapled up, with " My Dear Wife - Max " wrote on it. (I'll wait till the morning

to open it) Tears again. Can't seem to stop crying, I feel like I'm on an

emotional rollercoaster. I called him and he'd made to Dalton (GA) ok. He and a

bunch of others were still waiting for the shuttle to pick them up and take them

to the motel. They have to be in the lobby at 6:30 in the morning to be shuttled

to Tunnel Hill for orientation. He has 3 days of this, plus a physical, drug and

road test. Then he has to wait to be assigned a truck, then off he goes to God

only knows where for 2/3 wks before they send him home for a few days. He

figures on at least a year of this before he can get something more local or

terminal to terminal

where he'd be home more. He wants me to go out with him and get my CDL. I go

back and forth on this. I don't think it's for me, with my health issue's. I

have a hard enough time just getting out of a regular bed and going to the

couch, or getting ready for work. The thought of having to go outside and walk

to a bathroom,(never knowing how I'm going to feel, which is consistantly in a

lot of pain), makes me nauseous. He says we can work something out. But I have

the added bonus of having a colostomy, which cannot be ignored and worked around

in a truck.

I have decided to go back to school. I was going last year until I got hurt on

my other job. This time I'm enrolling in a stenotype school. I'll learn court

reporting, depositions, medical transcription, legal and medical terminology,

grammer, courtroom etiquette, close-captioning, some other stuff. I go on Wed.

to see the Financial Aid person, she walks you through everything. I already had

student loans, just need to defer and reapply. If everything goes as planned, I

will start on 9/4. I chose the morning classes, 8:30 to 1:30. It takes less time

to get through than the night classes. Days on average takes 2 yrs. It's

expensive, but the payoff will be well worth it. An average deposition pays

$60.00 to $80.00 an hour. I'll have a variety of careers to choose from and can

change to suit my needs. I do a lot from home. My plan is to look for a

part-time job in the afternoons. I can't NOT work. Max is being totally

supportive of my decision. Since Mayo

has become so stressful for me, this should take a lot of that away. I'll feel

like I'm doing something for our future. Two yrs seems like such a long time,

but again the payoff will be well worth it.

How is your move going? It is our dream one day to buy or build a log cabin and

live in the mountains. I'm sooooo happy for you!

Thank you again for thinking of me!

Darlena

[Guest guest]

Happy Birthday Darlena !!!!!!!!!!

Hope you have a nice one!!

Hugs

Antoinette

[Guest guest]

Happy Birthday Darlena !!!!!!!!!!

Hope you have a nice one!!

Hugs

Antoinette

[Guest guest]

Happy Birthday to you - I hope it as pleasant as it possibly can be and even

more so, that you are up for it!!!!!

STL Jane

[Guest guest]

Happy Birthday to you - I hope it as pleasant as it possibly can be and even

more so, that you are up for it!!!!!

STL Jane

[Guest guest]

Darlena, How lovely that your hubby left a sweet surprise for you!!! You are

going through lots of changes and stress so no wonder you're teary. I'm glad

you're looking realistically at what you can do for work, and planning

sustainably for it. A truck drivin' Mama with a colostomy.naah, that would

be too much hassle by far, I should think! It does not sound like you're up

for that kind of work to me. Good Luck with everything, Aylwin xox ps,

BTW.HAPPY BIRTHDAY again, wot tha heck!

[Guest guest]

Darlena, How lovely that your hubby left a sweet surprise for you!!! You are

going through lots of changes and stress so no wonder you're teary. I'm glad

you're looking realistically at what you can do for work, and planning

sustainably for it. A truck drivin' Mama with a colostomy.naah, that would

be too much hassle by far, I should think! It does not sound like you're up

for that kind of work to me. Good Luck with everything, Aylwin xox ps,

BTW.HAPPY BIRTHDAY again, wot tha heck!

[Guest guest]

Darlena,

One caution about the court reporter idea. The court reporter folks

have a really really high incidence of developing carpal tunnel and

other repetitive stress injuries. Having had these injuries myself plus

fibromyalgia, I am very very limited in the use of my hands even for

person around the house stuff. I use adaptive stuff. I think it's a

great idea for the work potential, just something to consider.

Sandrea

[Guest guest]

Darlena,

One caution about the court reporter idea. The court reporter folks

have a really really high incidence of developing carpal tunnel and

other repetitive stress injuries. Having had these injuries myself plus

fibromyalgia, I am very very limited in the use of my hands even for

person around the house stuff. I use adaptive stuff. I think it's a

great idea for the work potential, just something to consider.

Sandrea

[Guest guest]

Happy Birthday Darlena,

I'm so happy your husband called and left you something as well. I hope

it is something you will feel wonderful receiving. Do something special

for yourself tomorrow, even if it is just watching a DVD you have wanted

to see.

Sandrea

[Guest guest]

Thanks . I think I already have it. Most of my jobs have entailed a lot of

typing or repetitive motion. I am constantly having pain in my hands all the way

up my arms, but not actually been diagnosed. I type a lot at home too. I will

definetly take this into consideration.

Darlena