Skirting The Pit Of Despair; Also, Some Good News

So before I start in about my (possible) good news (I'm not sure it's even news, but it's good), I have to say that I'm about as droopy as can be right now. (in our house, droopy describes a certain mood -- you know the one, where everything just kind of droops...)

(boy is that a funny word)

Anyway. Yes. Droopy. All hormonally-induced. I was doing pretty good today -- I think this happy eating plan saved my butt on a busy day at work on what is traditionally the worst day of my period. And then -- After Work. Within 20 minutes of leaving work I was feeling totally spacey and weird, and then I had to stop at Trader Joes to get a few things and I started The Wander. You know the one where you forget that you are holding a list in your hand, and you start to wander the shelves, picking up this and that and mulling over "Should I get red tea or white tea or green tea... oh I just don't know!!". Yeah, that one.

Thankfully I recognized it and left the store quickly, but not before I bought two natural fruit-nut bars (intending them for a snack later this week) but then of course I ate them in the car. And then I get home and really started to droop. Terri got bad news (SSDI turned her down for benefits -- not totally unexpected, but a total drag since now we have to get a lawyer. Apparently this is standard procedure.) and that made me really upset. Thankfully I was too droopy to get too fired up about it (for now). Then I settled into the couch and drooped further. I requested a magazine off the table and a bag of rice chips. OK? I'm trying but when I have my period it is very very difficult to not make a big pan of brownies and eat the whole thing. I am trying to make do with rice products and fresh fruit. And blankies and novels.

So anyway, my good news is cushioned in this sea of droop -- I may have figured out my 'clicks just right' career path... I know I said that if I didn't do nursing, I would do librarian school, but then last night I read a few career articles about Occupational Therapy. Something in my brain clicked and I just went, Oh! Hey! I could really get into that!

What's Occupational Therapy?

"Using the original definition of occupation as an activity, an Occupational Therapist is someone who helps people with the activities of daily living. While these activities may include career-related activities, they also include a host of others. OT is in many ways similar to physical therapy, only PT is focused on regaining mobility in the body part, whereas OT focuses on helping you use your body part in daily functioning.

Who could benefit from OT?Anyone who is not functioning at the level they want to be functioning could benefit from Occupational Therapy. This might include children with developmental delays or specific handicaps, children needing help with handwriting, people recovering from accidents, people with sensory problems such as sensitivity to sounds, older adults who want to be more mobile and independent, and the list goes on!"

What I really liked in doing my reading was that it seems like a happy marriage of everything I liked about nursing, plus a real emphasis on creativity and problem-solving, two things I am actually quite good at. The prerequisites for the program I am looking at are very similar to those for nursing, so I'm almost done with the prerequisites already. The program is a two-year master's program. Then I would be all done. All the decisions and hoops required to get into any nursing program right now are exhausting and overwhelming. This seems SO much more straightforward and really appeals to me. I found this little tidbit in particular interesting: Profile Of An Occupational Therapist (it's three pages, I didn't see the little clicky numbers at the bottom the first time I read it). They are pretty much describing me, in detail.

So that's my happy news. I have been working through this career puzzle for so long, it feels fantastic to find something that really feels like it suits me as well as being rewarding and financially a smart move.

But of course we're droopy here so my droop has to say, "But it's still two years out of my rapidly aging, child-less life. Where does a baby fit in all this? How can we afford for me to work part-time for two years? What if? What if?" Did you notice the part about 'rapidly aging'? Yeah, that's a nice touch.

Terri has a doctor's appointment tomorrow which will hopefully shed some light on why she isn't getting better even though we are throwing every treatment known to mankind into her system. So maybe that will shift things. Or some baby-strewn, health-laden path will make itself clear. But for now, I'm just going to be happy that I've found something that, if not my 'calling' sounds darn close.