[Evonne]

I just wanted to let you all know that the MDS that I really wanted to see has agreed to accept me as his patient. My appointment is not until December 17th...but I won't complain. They may call me in earlier if there is a cancellation.

I have decided to make a change in my life. I have been a stay at home mom and childcare provider for years. I had always thought that some day I would go back to school when my kids got older. My sons are eight and eleven years old now. Anyways...the medical field has always been appealing to me. Since this whole PD thing, I feel a greater sense of urgency about doing things that I have always wanted to do. Today, I decided that I am no longer going to do daycare. I am going to get my Nursing Assistant Certification. In order to accomplish this, I will spend about a month working and training in a nursing home. Then, I will take an exam to become certified and be put into a registry. My goal is to be hired on part time at a hospital. I will be able to work less than I am working now and I will make just about the same income as I am making now. Other ways that this will benefit my life are...1) I will be paying into social security again...which I will need to draw from some day. 2) I will get medical and dental benefits. This is HUGE! My husband has insurance, but we wind up with all sorts of bills because our coverage isn't the greatest. The bills create a financial strain that we don't need. Hopefully with us both having insurance we will wind up with a lot less bills! 3) I think it will be really good for me to get out of the house...I am super social and being at home all the time is tough.

The only thing that I think will be hard for us is that I have always been home for my kids. It will be very different working outside of the home. My husband has a job where he is home by 1:30 every day. There are a lot of part-time, evening CNA jobs available, so I would probably choose to do that. That way, there would always be one of us home with the kids. When we talked this over with the kids, they were a little concerned about me not being here after school. I pointed out some of the positives...1) I would be able to help out in their classrooms during the day. 2) I could meet them for lunch at school 3) I would be home with them during all of their breaks from school. They seemed to come around to the idea pretty well. I know, it probably sounds like I'm getting ahead of myself with all of this...I just like to think everything out before I do it. All in all...I feel pretty good about it. I will keep you all posted on how things are going. Thanks for reading this

[Chicory]

If your kids are 8 & 11, it is a good time to do more for yourself. They are old enough now to be more independent and to help with household chores- which you will need. Since your husband is home early, it shouldn't be too hard for your kids. I started working part time outside the home when my kids were 5, 8, & 10. I think it is good to work part time when your kids are school age.

Good luck with the MDS. I had a bad experience with a MDS that I waited for an appointment with. Hopefully your experience will be good, but don't count too much on it. Just live your life day by day as best you can.