Y'know how sometimes you feel like you've been stuck in a rut FOREVER? Then, in an almost bizarre series of events it seems like everything changes all at once; like your life is being written by a soap-opera scriptwriter who thought "Aha! We haven't done anything with that character for ages!" ?
Well, my life has felt a bit like that of late.
There I was, minding my own business, dragging myself through day after day of mind-numbing tedium when, without warning, everything started shifting around me.
Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to bits when I got my job (or two jobs) - after 6 months of looking for work, 15 years of being a full-time mum, during a recession and with a "back to work advisor" who was making me physically ill with stress there was a huge relief to it.
But I can't say the situation was in any way ideal. I was working as a cleaner when my qualifications and experience would indicate an office job. I was working two shifts a day - one 0545-0745 and another 1700-1900 - which meant I mostly ended up sleeping 4 hours during the day, 4 at night. Just about enough sleep but on a crazy schedule. Then there's the fact I was walking approx 8km per day JUST getting to and from work. Add to that four hours on me feet at work it's no wonder that after 16 months I was almost crippled with plantar fasciitis, an incredibly painful condition of the feet.
As I headed off on my summer holiday, a welcome extension of my sick leave, I was desperately worried about what I was going to do. The job market was still flat as a pancake, I was severely limited by the limitations put on back-to-work mums (16-20 hours a week only) and I couldn't see a way out.
Change One: Thinking of Studying
Whilst I was away I got a phone call. I had taken some adult learning courses a few years back and it was one of my old tutors asking if I'd be interested in her latest ECDL class. I was really excited by the idea, even though in practical terms it would prove to be a huge challenge - not intellectually (the course was an updated version of something I had already done) but physically. I was already so incredibly tired.
Change Two: A New Direction
I got home and went to visit a friend. I was all excited about the possibility of studying again until I heard her news: following a bad experience with a dodgy correspondance course she'd decided to enrol and study for an Open University degree!
My first reaction was HOW? I'd looked into it years earlier and been given to understand I couldn't because I had no A-Levels (or equivalent). I knew my friend didn't have any either but she assured me it wasn't necessary. The ECDL course went straight out the window!
I went home and requested a prospectus.
I sat on the idea for a while. Six years of studying (to complete a degree part time) is a huge undertaking. Especially with my work life - would it be possible? Also, would I be eligible for financial assistance or the cost would be a major issue. But the over-riding feeling was "if SHE can get a degree I damn well want one too!" I was absolutely desperate for something to change.
Change Three: A Timely Opportunity
I had already begun the enrollment process when another change clicked into place: a new job! Still cleaning for the same company but 0800-1000, with a promotion too. So now I'm walking just 60% of what I was doing before and life is a lot easier. My feet are finally starting to heal up and things are looking pretty good right now. I'm working 6 days a week but I feel like I have so much more time...and plenty of time for study!
Mind you, I'm still struggling trying to get my bodyclock back on track but my course doesn't start until February so I have some time to get myself together. Enrollment is complete, I've bought my set texts, set up a study, signed up for some additional complementary classes...
If things can just stay as they are for a few years it'll be a big help. There's gonna be another change in early 2015 but thankfully I'll be more than halfway through my studies by then.
STEPDAD UPDATE
He had his surgery for bowel cancer, and two more follow up ops cos they punctured his spleen and eventually had to have it removed. He had a very rough time of it and lost a huge amount of weight but they think they got all the cancer. He's not having chemo and is just waiting for reversal surgery. So relieved he's okay!
