Day 8 (technically): Story Time.

So here we go, the first official blog post, other than the informative one. Though today is day 1 of the blog, it's really day 8 of my stay at home adventures.

Story Time. Get on my level. ;)

Once upon a time, I worked for 2 years and 3 months at a veterinary clinic (now called Lakes Area Veterinary Hospital) in a little town in Southeast Texas called Jasper, about 25 minutes away from Kirbyville, the even smaller town in which I reside. I started working at this clinic as a Veterinary Assistant. I had experience in the veterinary field before this, but it was short lived and I had only been in Client Relations there. This was my first time as an assistant.

Since I was young, I always wanted to work with animals. So I started there and I fell in love. I have a passion for helping. Here, I was helping animals AND people, and I was overjoyed. The folks at this clinic nurtured my talent and my passion and turned it into a career, and I can never repay them for all that the did for me in those 2 years. They are my family.

Over the 2 years I my knowledge and experience grew tremendously, and I earned my certification through the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, and advanced to level 2 before I left. I felt confident. I had a career.

During my time at this clinic, both of my children started school. I kept working full time, my husband worked full time in construction, and my Mother in Law, who lives with us, took care of the kids until we got home.

Then, 2015 happened.

In 2015 small personal things began to pile up one after the next that really took a toll on me. Not only did they affect me, but they affected my home life. They affected the kids. Anthony was diagnosed with ADHD. Andy was being relentlessly bullied at school and was diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder and Anxiety. Our beloved dog of 7 years, a dachshund named Adolf, passed away tragically at our home. And then, in August, my husband accidentally shot himself in the knee while cleaning a gun. (Please don't ask why he didn't clear the chamber first. Lets not lengthen this post even more.)

This is only a small portion of the things that were going on around me and happening to me. I felt like everything was falling apart. My husband was unable to work in the same conditions as before due to his injury, and lost his job. My kids were not getting 100% from me, and if there is anything in this world that I love even more than veterinary medicine, it's my family. Nothing truly makes me happier than taking care of my home, my kids, and my husband, and I felt every day that I was failing them.

It took a toll on me at work, too. I wasn't happy anymore. I was just angry and tired all of the time. I was emotional and depressed. I didn't do the things I should be doing on the weekends at home. I mostly just slept. I took two vacations. They didn't help. I was just more angry when I got back because I had to go back to work. I kept on for as long as I could, until I finally had enough. Something had to change. My husband had been home with the kids since a few months after the injury, and was struggling to find a job, but I couldn't take the misery anymore.

So I left. And here we are.

Day 7: I'm all smiles :)

Positive Vibes,

Stacy