JANUARY 1, 2022 - NEW’S YEAR DAY FOR 2022!!!

 JANUARY 1, 2022 - NEW’S YEAR DAY FOR 2022!!!

Ah, yes!!  The promise of a New Year - a fresh start!!  As the illustration shows - Out with the Old, and in with the New!!

BUT … as much as we want to celebrate - humans don’t really want to change!!!  Over the years, various people have suggested making “New Year’s Resolutions”.  And, we sometimes do, and rarely keep them.

But, let’s have a story!!!!

*****

What a year it had been!!  Kelly had been reminded of the old county song “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”

*****

Her husband, Rob caught COVID in February 2021.  And, he had it bad.  In the hospital, in a room with a ventilator.  ten weeks - ten terrible weeks - ten miserable weeks - until he died. At 37, Rob was much too young to die.  

Then came the bills.  As a contractor in the Austin Texas area, he had carried his own health insurance,  He had to, just in case he fell off a roof, stepped on a rusty nail, or caught pneumonia. 

COVID had not been on his agenda eight years ago when Rob started working construction.  The business was great.  He had learned so many skills - so when it was unmercifully hot, he could at least be out of the sun doing wiring or plumbing.  But, ten miserable weeks, ten weeks without a paycheck, ten weeks that Kelly had been working very few hours so she could be at the hospital.  

At first, it seemed so very nice for Rob’s ex-wife (and the mother of their two children) would take the kids so Kelly could go to the hospital.  When Rob died, Trudy had filed suit to have the kids permanently.  Kelly loved those kids, but the court decided that they should be with a biological parent, and Trudy was a reasonable mother most of the time except when she was smoking dope.  And, Trudy had a good job and money while Kelly was broke.

In the week after Rob’s death, Kelly lost her job with ten weeks of not working they had tried to understand, but the reality is reality - they needed the accounting analysis done NOW to satisfy the government and the businesses.  

The bank was next.  The loan Rob and Trudy had taken on their house was due after two months without a payment.  The bank understood - COVID was tough, it was hitting a lot of folks, and they were sorry, but they were on a paper-thin line between profitability and loss.  

*****

So, boom - lost a husband, lost her job, lost their family, lost their house.  

******

She lived with a friend for a few days - sorting out the options, paying the bills, understanding there wouldn’t be a funeral for Rob in the near future.

She thought about calling her parents.  It would have to be a last resort.  When she had married Rob - a second marriage for him and the first marriage for her; her parents largely had disowned her - and Kelly had said some things to them that she wished she could take back.  That door had slammed shut (and was nailed in place).  

Why was life so tough?  

*****

Kelly approached her last boss at McGladtree.  He was sorry that all had fallen apart for Kelly.  But, he did agree to write her a recommendation.  He warned her that with COVID not many firms were hiring.  There might be a small sympathy for her situation, but Kelly would have to step up her game.  

Kelly did receive some unemployment benefits.  That helped a little.  She was able to trade off Rob’s old car and her old car and got a really cheap small used car that got great gas mileage.  That helped a little.  

*****

Her friend Leah tried to help out as well and allowed Kelly to live with her 

Then, it somehow happened.  Leah’s job ended abruptly.  The company was losing money hand over fist, Leah was the last in - and thus the first out when they had to lay off people and fire them.  

Leah got a little severance pay over the next six weeks, both ladies were getting unemployment benefits but those would run out eventually.  They had to find a job.

*****

The two ladies soon were taking jobs - just because they were jobs and paid something.  As soon as the vaccines were out, both got on the list and got vaccinated.  A health occupation friend suggested working for either private patients as a nurse’s aide or for a hospital or home.  Kelly started with Senior Angels and soon was making enough money to start to pay off some of the bills.  As a private aide, she worked from 7:00 to 4:00 - five days a week.  She had the same patient, Dr. Samantha Prince. Dr. Prince had been a professor at the University of Houston, and then dean at Concordia University, and had retired as Provost for Southwestern University.  Now in her upper 80s, Samantha could not take care of herself.  She had never married but had saved and invested wisely.  

Kelly, did the main shift for Dr. Prince - getting her up, feeding her, bathing her, dressing her, taking her to doctor appointments, and on nice days, pushing Dr. Prince in a stroller around her neighborhood.  Kelly gave her morning medications, checked her vitals (mostly blood pressure and temperature), and was her constant companion.  It paid $450 a day or about $1800 a week, or about $72,000 a year.  

Leah went to work for Lutheran Social Services and did similar things as Kelly, but generally in one to two-hour blocks.  So at 7 a.m. Leah might be getting Marge up, bathed, dressed and fed, until 9:00; then at 9:30, took care of Aggie until 12:00 - which included making Aggie lunch.  At 12:30, she saw Nancy until 2:00 - and also made Nancy lunch; then Ned from 2:30 to 5:30 - including a bath, making him a meal, and cleaning his apartment.  The income wasn’t quite as great - about $425 a day, or $1675 for the week.  Sometimes there were extra shifts (like when Marge traveled to Atlanta for her niece’s weekend, and Leah accompanied her the whole time and got her airfare and all expenses paid and a nice bump in pay.

*****

It wasn’t awesome work.  Bathing an old person and changing their adult diapers and wiping down their bottoms was not what either Kelly or Leah majored in college.  But, with a joint income of over $120,000 a year (before taxes).  It helped out.  

Leah, the more spiritual one said “God will provide”, and He had.  

*****

Life does come at us pretty hard - and it can throw us for a loop.  Being able to roll with the punches had become a necessity for two women.  

Eventually, they learned to like working with these senior people and they became very close to their patients.  

*********************************

Postscript:

Little did they know that in 20 years, Kelly would be the COO - Chief Operating Officer for Senior Angels and doing business analytical work to improve the service, and safety of the angels.  She did reconcile with her parents and family. Leah would be a senior psychologist for Lutheran Social Sciences helping provide their clients with mental health support.

Or that in six years, Leah and Kelly would be married.

*****

Ah yes, another Pollyanna story - love wins, and faith and belief also win.

****

Happy New Year!!

Karen

January 1, 2022