A listening ear...

This is going to be a long post.

Two days ago at noon, I was told the company I haul for is going to be moving at the end of the year. This means that I had the following options – 1. Move – not an option with my mom the way she is. 2. Commute 77 miles each way – 154 miles total each day on top of up to 550 miles in a semi truck. I would get little sleep each night and thus for safety – I won’t even consider this. 3. Change to a different division – including less pay possibly. 4. Quit and move on,

In trucking this happens all the time – contracts end, companies go bankrupt, bought out and… I lost my first job when they went bankrupt. My second job? They were bought out and I didn’t understand the corporate culture going from a name to a number and so I left that job. The next two jobs didn’t work out for a variety of reasons. About this time my dad was starting to have serious medical issues and I decided I wanted to work for a large company with a lot of opportunities and be home most of the time. That lead me to the company I work for today. I was able to be with my dad his last two years – time I will treasure forever. I also promised my mom I would be there whenever it was her time. Although my mom is overall healthy – being a quadriplegic and having dementia isn’t giving her a quality of life – only family and friends can give that to her. Also, only the good lord knows when her time is up on earth – which could be 3 months, 3 years or….  

The only position for me open right now won’t allow me to see her 5 days out of the week but at least I won’t be sleeping in another state or not being able to be there in an emergency. The hours are 7am to 7pm 5 days a week. I will be looking for an opening at other places I qualify for – trying to get better work hours but at least I will have a job, won’t have to start at the bottom again and most important – I will keep my medical insurance.

This will also give me little time for “life” which I am unhappy with but I also know that I have been very lucky in my career overall. Grateful I have time to prepare myself for this change and still hope a better position will open up.

If you read this far, thank you very much. I am really hoping all this work out well.