I'm on the hunt...for a job

As my brother-in-law, John, would say, "I'm doin' it, I'm really doin' it." I have started searching for a full time job. Not something that was truly on my radar. I knew down the road, when the boys were older I'd probably have to do something, like work full time, but that was waaaay down the road.

Unfortunately, circumstances have come up that leave me little option other than to get a 9-5. I do have the utter realization that now isn't the most spectacular time to find a new job or start a career. Everyone and their brother is trying to do the same thing.

It'll be a hard transition for all of us. I've always been available to my children. My boys are the ones who have known me as a working mom. The jobs I had when the girls were little didn't take me away from them for too long, maybe a night here and there. Now I'll have to rely on my 15 yr old to come home and be with the boys. Any job I find worth taking will take me at least an hour to get to. So, that will be a huge transition for us. It'll be so hard emotionally to transition from being available to not doing anything in the schools.

Right now I work at Menards, a hardware store like Home Depot. I enjoy my job. Working with people is up my alley and let's face it, I love power tools! Too bad we don't get to actually use them. I'm trying to convince my boss that during our meetings we should have some hands on time with the tools we sell.

So, I talked to my mom and I've started searching the gov't databases. I also sent my resume, skimpy as it may be, to the Christian college my daughter is hoping to attend. It hasn't been an easy task getting my resume onto the new computer. Then trying to figure out how to make myself stand out in the crowd has turned my brain to mush. I don't want to make it seem like I don't know enough, but I want them to see I have a degree of experience. I've noticed I'm a jack-of-all-trades type of gal.

A definite negative to the job/career search is the fact that so many people want 4 year degrees or specialized experience. I've got specialized experience at the companies I've worked for, just not the ones for the places hiring. I want to say, "Come on, give me a try, I can pick up computer programs pretty easily. Forget the kid who has however many years left of gainful employment and a crisp 4 year degree under their belt. Hire me, the nearly 40 yr old stay at home mom who's had little jobs here and there for the last 17 yrs."

My mom has tried over and over for the past 17 yrs to have me get my Bachelor's Degree, but for one reason or another, it's never happened. Of course, now, when it's a dire situation, I'd love to have it. Now I have to forge ahead and pray someone will pick me out of a crowd and know I'm the right person for the job.

Many things are on the line, not the least of which is our home. Thankfully there's a 6 month redemption period if you go into foreclosure so we'd head into summer before we had to move. Brie would be headed to college. There's the possibility we could sell the house, but we've only been here 2 1/2 years so we owe the complete amount of our mortgage. And we know how the economy and housing markets are right now.

One of our options is to move to VA to live with my mom for a short period of time while we try to figure out our lives. That wouldn't be easy since there are 4 of us that would move in with them. Amber only has 2 yrs left of school and this is all she's known. The boys are excited about living by their uncles!

Please keep us in prayer as we move along this path. Pray that God would open up doors for me to travel through, even if it's painful and not the choice I'd make on my own. Pray that whoever God has for me to work for would have eyes to see and a heart that hears. Please pray that a job would open up and I'd get my resume and whatever else is needed into the right hands. Thanks so much.