Dewey Family

This post will be quite wordy and long. I usually don't post without pictures but I have a long story to tell. I have to admit that when I see blogs with long stories I usually scan through them and then move on to the next when so don't feel guilty if you do that with mine. :)

There have been a few changes around here in the Dewey home. I posted previously that my mom had recently retired from her Office Administrator job of 24 years. Well they offered me the promotion about a year ago. It came with quite a hefty raise but the catch was I would need to work in the office. They still promised to be flexible with my hours since I wanted to be at home when Isaiah left for school and came home. At this time Daniel was commuting to McMinnville which is about 15 minutes away from my work. Problem solved right. Just move to Forest Grove and Daniel's commute would be much shorter. Well it wasn't that easy. Daniel was supposed to be working on a site in Corvallis but it was delayed and the start up date was unknown at the time. Due to the economy they had to make some changes. So Hoffman put Daniel in McMinnville. We were sort of in limbo at the time because it could have gone either way. They could have kept him in McMinnville until the project was done (two or three years), or they would move him to Corvallis whenever or if ever the project got started. I decided at that time to turn down the offer because there were too many unknowns. I didn't want to take Isaiah out of school, start him in a new one, and then a few months later get word from Hoffman that they were moving Daniel to the Corvallis job. I stressed and stressed over what to do for months. When I finally made the decision I felt at peace so I know I made the right decision. It was still hard for me though because professionally it would have been a great opportunity to expand my skills and my knowledge, and I'm not going to lie, it was hard to turn down that raise. That offer came to me in May of 2009 and sure enough by September Hoffman moved Daniel to Corvallis to work on the site he is currently working on. Now let's fast forward to September 2010, two months away from my moms retirement. My boss called me again and asked if I would meet him for lunch. I was really nervous that he was going to tell me that I was going to be out of a job, basically I was almost sure he was firing me. Much to my surprise he again was offering me the office administrator position that would soon be opening up. The offer went up even higher and at this point we are getting closer to Daniel's job here being finished. Professionally I was very excited but we still had the uncertainty of where we would be next. There is a huge chance that Daniel could get put on a job starting in Hillsboro but there is just no way to know until that time gets closer. I told my boss I would think it over and talk to Daniel about it. Daniel's job here won't be finished until May or June and they wanted me up there as soon as possible. That would mean I would have to commute three hours each day (sorta ruled that one out right away), or Isaiah and I would have to move up there until Daniel could join us in May, that is IF Hoffman moved him to Hillsboro. The offer they gave me was almost too good to pass up and that was why I was having such a hard time making a decision. Daniel of course did not want us to be apart but he also didn't want to tell me that I shouldn't take it because he knew how badly I wanted to. I finally made my decision that I would take the job but that I couldn't be up there until May or June when Daniel was done here. I didn't feel it was right to be put in that position to choose between what's best for my family or advancing professionally. Since my mom's retirement they have been in complete chaos and were in need of someone right away. The guy they had hired a couple years ago to replace my mom couldn't do all the things she was doing. She was an amazing employee and they were lucky to have her there. Once I made my decision I knew they were going to have to hire someone else to at least come in and do the billing and other odds and ends. I figured that would hold them over until I could come in May or June. I even offered to drive up a couple days a week and help out. Well five days after I gave them my answer I got a call from my boss. He said that they had hired someone to do the billing, posting, and basically take over my mom's position. I didn't quite understand what he was saying because I do the posting along with other things he said the new employee would be doing. He basically told me that I had until the end of the month, (this was Jan.). I really couldn't believe what I was hearing. They had given me no reason to believe that if I didn't take this promotion I would lose my job. It just felt weird and wrong to one day be given a huge promotion and then the next be laid off. I went through a long series of emotions all in about five minutes. At first I was shocked, then I was mad, then I felt sad, and then I felt betrayed. After all those emotions passed I felt a big gushing of warmth go through my body. I felt relief and peace that this was what was supposed to happen. For days after this news I tried so hard to be mad at the way they went about letting me go, but I kept getting these feelings of peace. I knew if they would have told me ahead of time that if I didn't take the promotion I would lose my job, I would have done anything to make it work out of fear of not having a job. I have literally had a job my whole life. When I was younger my dad owned some apartment complexes and my sister's and I were in charge of mowing the lawns and cleaning out the units when tenants moved out, (worst job ever, but definitely fun with my sisters), Then my dad opened two Hogi Yogi's (sandwich and frozen yogurt shop) that I worked at all through high school again alongside my sister's. We had a blast. OK now I am getting off course due to reminiscing. Basically as of February 1st I have been unemployed. I can't stand that word. It's been a very humbling experience for me. I have worked for 12 years at that place and I honestly thought I was irreplaceable at the clinic. I've learned a lot already, mainly to trust in the Lord and what his plan is for me and my family. I don't know what is in store for me right now but I do know that losing my job was something that had to happen for whatever it is Heavenly Father has in store for me. I couldn't be happier. I've never experienced motherhood without a job and so far I am loving it. I know this was a long way of saying, "I got fired." but what can I say, it's the woman's version of a story. :) Stay tuned for another fun little story about another happening.