So in two days I go back to work in an office. I love all of my clients and I am still working with them, but I need health insurance and a retirement plan. I played it smart this time, and am keeping work-life balance at the top of my priority list. I was really open about my journey and plans during the interviews leading up to this position. I will be working as an AR specialist for a large woman’s care organization. No taking call 24/7, no evenings or weekends. It is hourly and not salary so if I do work extra I will be compensated. I have been stressed for the last week, nervous about the changes I guess, but stress is my enemy and I sent myself right into a flare-up. I started losing hair again, sores inside my mouth and nose and my hands and feet hurt so bad. To top off the flare my face broke out with so much acne, I havent had acne in forever.

My best friend Jim takes good care of me. He did my grocery shopping for me on Wednesday because my feet hurt so bad. He helped me with laundry and even unloaded my dishwasher and took out my trash. I couldnt ask for a better person in my corner. There was a time when I thought I would spend the rest of my life with him, we were together for 10 years. I look back now and realize that we should have always just stayed friends. We had an amazing time when we were together, but living together didnt mesh. A lot of people say you cant be friends with an ex or you cant have a guy friend in general, but we definitely break all those stereotypes. There is a local spa here where you can rent hot tubs by the hour, but you have to have a 2nd person, Jim has been going with me because it really helps my pain. Even though we were together for 10 years, we both still look away and try and stay covered as we shower and change. It is so awkward that it is funny!

I didnt start this post out thinking it would be about Jim, but here I am. We met working at a nursing home that we refer to as “the asylum”. I had just lost my mother and was raising my two brothers. Jim had the best laugh and I started to refer to him as a “sexy chunk of chocolate”. We started casually seeing each other and that somehow turned into so much more. We started traveling to Vegas and Seattle and I introduced him to camping and all of our amazing Oregon Lakes. He is the one person that still to this day can always make me laugh. As my best friend and even when he was my boyfriend he is the one who has to deal with me ugly crying. About 5 years into our relationship/arrangement I fell on hard times and he asked me to move in with him. Things were good until one day I realized we were sleeping in separate rooms and living separate lives, we were like roommates who said “I love you, did you lock the door?” before bed.

Shortly before our 10 year anniversary was when I realized that I was suffering from major depression. I sat him down one day and asked him, “should I move out?” We both were crying when he said yeah I was thinking this Summer. Two months later I found a place. Jim rented my moving truck and him and a friend did all of the work as I was recovering from back surgery. He kept coming over to hang things up and set stuff up. Our transition from being together to staying friends was hard, but our friendship never faltered. About 6 months later the company I worked for hired a new Director of Nursing. Jim’s name came up and she saw his picture in my office. We chatted and she had worked with him at the hospital. A few days later she pulled me aside to inform me that she needed to clear her conscience and let me know that Jim had slept with several of her friends while he worked at the hospital, essentially that he had been cheating on me. I told Jim that I met her, and he simply said, can we get past what she has probably told you. I was like yep, not going to be angry about the past. It is what it is and he has always been my best friend and made me a priority in his life.

Everyone should have a Jim in their life. He checks in with me almost every day to see if I am in pain and if he can help. He is willing to join me and Hercules on our crazy adventures and never hesitates to tell me the truth. As I have been losing so much hair, it had become so thin. It was pretty long, down to between my shoulder blades, but I couldnt do anything with it. I decided to chop it off. Jim needed all the pictures I was considering so he could give me an honest opinion of what would work. I got it done on Friday and he came over that night to fix my AC. He said, is it shorter then you wanted, and I was like yep. He knows me so well. Why I chose short and bangs is beyond me, the bangs are already driving me crazy. I will style it on Wednesday when I head to my new gig, and hopefully I can make it as cute as my stylist did.

Ok. I have rambled enough. I did get a new client today. She has started a pediatric in-home care agency in another state and I am so excited to work with her. I love in-home care and I know there is a huge need for help for parents with special needs children. I hope it will be a great collaboration!