hanging with cliffs

When I got divorced, I hadn't had a "work outside the home" job in... decades. I had saved zero money and would have to get back to working full time as soon as possible. I was hired as a patient care coordinator at an animal hospital nearby and loved it. I couldn't believe they would even give me the opportunity considering how long I'd been out of the game. I pretty much didn't think anyone would want me- a newly divorced single mom with four kids? That's the exact same thing I thought about when friends suggested I try dating. (Well, do I have a story for you...) 

Anyway, the animal hospital was wonderful and so perfect for me to get on my feet. I loved seeing the animals, I learned a lot of valuable information, and I gained confidence in myself and my abilities. I wasn’t making enough money to get by and was hoping to find something that had more flexibility, as the kids needed rides to school and after school care was so expensive, and if they needed me during my shift I couldn’t just leave. 

Two years ago I applied to a posting for a marketing coordinator* at a local real estate office. So local in fact that it is literally a block from my house. They called to say I was hired before I even got home from the interview. I have my own office, a generous boss, and amazing flexibility regarding my comings and goings. I did work from home during the shutdown, but have been back in the office full time pretty much for a while now, mostly by choice because my own office is literally the only thing I can call my own right now. 

*I’m thinking about how to accurately explain just what I do as the marketing & listing coordinator/assistant for a top selling real estate agent. I might just have to write a “fictional story” on here at some point but in all honesty some of the shit I encounter on a daily basis is stuff you just can’t even make up...