The New Job, Part I

By now, pretty much everyone knows that B has started a new job but since this blog is written as a journal for our family I have to write this post anyway.  Yes, even though I am way behind in writing it!

I'll start from the beginning but I'll also try to keep it brief, here goes:

B had been looking for a new job for quite some time, probably close to two years before he found this one.  But we knew he would find a job and believe it or not we even knew when he would find the job, generally speaking.  You see, last year around this time (October/November 2011) B applied for a job that he really, really wanted.  So I kneeled down one night and said one of the most heartfelt prayers of my life, asking that he would get that particular job.  The next day I was struck by a very strong feeling, which I interpreted to be an answer to my prayer, and it was "next year."

I, of course, told B about this answer and his first question was, "so you mean I'm not going to get this job."  Looking back on it I laugh at this question.  But after his initial question he had more questions like, "Will it be a different company? Will it just be a promotion?  When next year? etc. etc." I didn't have answers to any of those questions and so I prayed again and was given a slightly more specific answer, "June."

I will be quite honest and say that I wasn't 100% sure that these were answers to my prayers or if these were just deadlines I was creating in my head.  But each time I prayed about it I received the exact same answer and so we decided we'd just go on as usual.  B kept applying for jobs and doing various interviews but in the end even when he was the most qualified applicant, it never worked out. 

As April came we really began to get excited thinking that whatever was coming would start to come soon.  Then May arrived and we told ourselves that in order to start a job in June we'd have to be interviewed for it by at least May and so when May came and went I really began to question those answers I had received.  But I told myself that nowhere in the answer did it specify what would happen when June arrived.  Maybe it meant he would find the job in June or apply for the job in June, we really didn't know.

And then one day in the middle of June, B came home with what should have been exciting news - he had been given a promotion at work.  I was not excited or happy about this at all!  A promotion was not what we were seeking, we were sick of his current company, of the crappy benefits, of the company politics and their ridiculous way of doing everything.  We wanted OUT of the company, not just a new job within the same company.  I was bitter and angry to say the least.

After a few days, I got over it.  I was able to see that even if this wasn't what we were ultimately looking for that it was a step in the right direction for our family.  It provided us a little extra wiggle room financially, enough to finally purchase a second car. 

Shortly after he started his new position we left for vacation.  When we returned, on B's first day back at work the phone rang while I was changing Q's diaper - I didn't answer it obviously but I could hear the phone saying Chrysler (our phones have talking Caller ID).  Whenever I know someone is calling concerning a job for B I always let it go to the answering machine so that when he gets home he can play back the message and hear it himself.  Well this time they didn't leave a message, I was really anxious about this and so I texted B and then I just decided to call the number back.

When I did this I was able to talk to the man who had called and he was extremely nice and basically told me that he wanted to bring B in for a one-on-one interview (he had already done a phone interview previously) and it was at that point that I knew this was the job that Heavenly Father had waiting for us and that this would be B's new job.

He interviewed with the hiring manager and things went extremely well, but he was told that he would be going up against four others who were internal, because of that we were a bit worried and really didn't see how he would be given the position but a week later B was contacted by his manager and told that he had sent his name on to corporate as the person he wanted to hire and that he would be contacted by them for an interview.  Two weeks passed and we heard nothing and then they finally called.  He interviewed with a panel of 3 and the following day he received another heads up from his manager that he would be offered the job!  It took a few more weeks to get everything organized but on September 11th he was able to put in his two weeks notice and on September 24th he became an employee of Chrysler!

Who Woulda Thunk It?!?!

I am sssooo excited, I can hardly contain myself, I seriously couldn't go to bed without typing this post!!! Tonight I had my fourth swim lesson and guess what - at the end of the lesson, I swam all by myself; no assistance and no floatation device. I left that lesson walking on air! I would have never thought that I would be swimming after only four lessons. Now it wasn't the perfect swim with the beautiful strokes that experience swimmers do, but it was me, refusing to allow my feet to rely on the safety that could be found at the bottom of the pool.

With that said, I'll give you more details of the entire lesson. We started the lesson off using the noodles and the paddle board. The noodles were under my arms (in my armpits) and my arms were fully extended with my hand holding the paddle board. We did this so that I could focus on the kicking without having to worry about my hands or arm movements. We did 6 laps using this method, I found that doing this I had to stop frequently because I would reach a point and even though I was kicking, I didn't feel like I was moving forward. So I would stop and use my feet to push off the bottom of the pool which gave me more momentum to push myself forward. After six laps of that he took away the paddle board and wanted me to use my arms (imagine the doggy paddle stroke). I actually was relieved to get rid of the board and use my arms because then I actually felt like I was moving. We did this for 3 laps of the pool and I actually surprised my instructor! He kept telling me that I could stop whenever I felt like it and take a break, but for the first 2 laps I made it over half the length of the pool without stopping and on the third lap I made it the ENTIRE length of the pool. He also told me that he knew I could do it without the noodles but he still wanted me to work with the noodles in order to help with my endurance training. So with 5-6 minutes left in our session he asked if I wanted to continue using the noodle or try it without, and of course I choose to try it without the noodles. At first I struggled to just let go and not use the pool floor as my safety net but after trying it a few times I DID IT!!! I swam all by myself with absolutely no help of any kind and I was so happy that I could have cried.

I am totally and completely amazed at the progress I have made. Some of you may not really know or understand just how terrified I was (and kinda still am) of water and the idea of swimming. But imagine your worst fear, the one thing you've spent your entire life being afraid of and then one day deciding that you have to overcome that fear. Maybe that's easy for some people, but for me, I can honestly say that this is the scariest and hardest thing I've ever attempted. I have gone from nearly drowning myself in my first lesson (and that's not being overly dramatic) to allowing myself to trust water enough to swim for a short period of time without panicking or fearing the worst. And I cannot take full credit for my accomplishments either. Heavenly Father has been such a HUGE help for me in this, each time I have gotten in that water He has sent his Spirit to help me, to comfort me, and let me know that everything is okay. To let me know that I can do this and that He did, indeed, listen to every prayer (and there have been a lot of them) that I sent up to Him before starting my lesson on any given day. And I am so grateful that I have the ability to not only ask for His help but also to have my prayers answered because I can tell you my progress would not be possible without Him and His Spirit.

Forgive me for taking ya'll to church in that last paragraph but I would feel very ungrateful if I didn't say that because, trust me, I have taken up a lot of His time in the last few weeks (haha). And I have a stronger testimony of prayer and faith because of it.

Also, thanks to all of you for your kind words of encouragement and support! I appreciate it more than you know.

Here are some photos of the township recreation center where I have my swim lessons and where Y and B play while I learn:

This is a shot of the Lazy River, Lap pool (where I swim) and some log balancing thing.

Here's the Lap Pool, where magic is made (and no, not that kinda magic).

The splash pad area without all the sprayers on, of course.

The water slide.