Long Overdue Update

Sooo, its been over 3 months since I blogged, and I apologize. Things got really crazy.

In the beginning of March (March 8th to be exact), my parents and I were in a bad car crash that, by the way, was not our fault. I suffered extreme pain in my right shoulder, chest, neck, and upper back for a good month after the accident. I was taking Vicodin and strong muscle relaxers and going to the chiropractor every day. I wasn't sleeping well at all. I was all of a sudden nauseous and lost my appetite. I started getting headaches every day. I was essentially falling apart, all due to the trauma of the accident. I had to suffer through all this alone, which was not fun. But I also had to continue looking for a full time job. Let me just say when it takes an hour to get dressed and brush your hair and teeth due to extreme pain, going out and looking for jobs was beyond stressful. However, I stuck with my job search, determined not to let my injuries from the accident bring me down. In April, I struck gold (Ok, not gold, but to me, it felt like gold).

I was offered a job here in Greenville as a Hab Tech for a government funded agency Maxim Healthcare Services in mid April. I would be going into my client's homes and providing them all kinds of services from home and community support (which is where we work on treatment plan goals, daily and weekly ones), personal care (meal time, dressing, bathing, etc), developmental therapy (only those who are MR/DD receive this), and respite care (which is offered to families who need it. Its basically recreational time for the client). It's definitely not a good paying job, but a month into it, I must say it is very rewarding. A lot of the other hab techs have more than 1 client, however, I only have one because during the school year she gets 30 hours a week, and during the summer, 50 hours a week. 30 hours a week is considered full time at Maxim. It may not seem like a lot of hours, trust me, it is.

I really adore my client. She has cerebal palsy among other mental and physical disabilities. The main thing about her is that she is non verbal. At first I was so nervous to work with a client who is not only in a wheelchair, but can't verbally communicate. However, she brings out a lot of great qualities that I've had inside myself for years. I'm a very patient person, which when working with someone like my client, is of upmost importance. I'm also able to empathize and really put myself in someone else's shoes. When I see through my client's perspective, I'm able to work and communicate with her so easily. It's hard for some people to see what life would be like if you couldn't talk or walk, but my client has opened my eyes to so many things in this world. For example, a lot of places are not handicap friendly, which upsets me greatly. And people in this world stare and point and laugh at people like my client, which makes me want to slap that person. Believe it or not, a non verbal person still has all the same feelings we do, they just communicate them in a different way. I just have to come to terms that the world will never understand or tolerate MR/DD folks.

That's basically the last 3 months of my life. The accident, struggling with my injuries, and then getting a job and working. There have been some other smaller events in there, but not all of them are blog worthy.

My parents are in the process of trying to move down to NC. My dad has a job, as long as they don't hold the results of his psych evaluation aganist him. I'm really praying they understand and that my dad gets the job. They really want to get out of Somerset so bad. If he does indeed get the job, they will be moving to Raleigh, which is only about an hour and 20/30 minutes away from me. I have to admit it will be nice to have them close, after 4 years of being 500 miles apart.

Jim is moving into his new place as I speak. He'll still be living in Gboro, just a nicer, bigger place. I'm so proud of him. In about 2 weeks, he will only have 1 more year of his 5 year apprenticeship to complete and then he'll be an electrician! He has actually been laid off from work the last few weeks, but like he always says working construction there is lay offs a few times a year. I know this first hand and at first they're awesome for him, but after about 3-4 weeks, he starts to go crazy from boredom. I don't blame him. I miss him a lot. We havent seen each other since mid Feburary (well, he did see me on March 8th when I was in that accident, but that doesn't count). Phone calls and texts are sent to each other practically every day.

I do have to mention something though. I know some people have a problem with me being so close with my ex. However, I disagree with a lot of the stuff my friends do in their relationships/friendships. Like, I strongly believe love doesn't happen in a month or two. Just like marriage, love takes work. You barely even know all there is to know of a person in 2 months and you love them? A person may think they love someone in that short of time, but to me you haven't weathered ANY storms with your partner to know that you have a love that stays true. The only way you know you have a true love is to stand the test of time. I didn't say I love you to Jim until over a year into our relationship. Can you believe people don't believe me when I say that? It's true. I had a very strong connection with him before that, but it wasn't love. People mistake strong connections/attraction/infatuation with love all the time. I think people are crazy for dating a few months, and then get engaged/move in to together/married so quickly. My parents did that and they will tell you every day of the year that it was HELL. They would strongly advise me NEVER to follow in their path.

Anyways, so people may have issues that I want to and will remain best friends with my ex, but I have issues with their relationships as well. Friends love each other even through all dissagreements. However, I will say that the only person I talk to about my friendship with Jim is my mom and dad. No one else understands. And thats fine. I know I will have a best friend until the day I die. And thats all the proof I need to do what I do.

I think that about wraps up my blog for tonight. Hopefully more to come soon.