June 7/8, 2008 - Time for Another Update

Well, for the past month and a half, I've been looking for work. And I finally found a good job with great benefits. I start working on Monday as a Direct Support Provider. Basically, that's a fancy title for a caregiver. I'll be working in a home for developmentally disabled individuals, helping them get up, dressed, bathed, fed, and off to jobs they might have. I'll be doing cooking and cleaning, and supervising any outings we might have. And like I said, there are great benefits. After six months, the employer pays for medical, vision and dental insurance, as well as AFLAC, and a CostCo membership. I get paid vacations, paid sick days, and paid holidays, including my birthday. Or, rather, any day within my birth month. Oh, and I get a raise at 6 months and at 12 months, if I've received all my certifications. And after a year, I have the opportunity to do more training and move up the ladder, get a bigger check, and eventually maybe even "mother" my own house. How exciting is that? Oh, and my supervisor worked it out so that I can have Mondays and Tuesdays off, so Brianna's therapies don't have to suffer for it! And I'll be working primarily day shift!

Brianna is doing really well being back in daycare. She has had some difficulty going to sleep recently, but if the last two nights are anything to go by, we should be over that now. Unfortunately, Brianna's daycare provider isn't open on the weekends, so I was going to have my sister's friend watch Brianna for me. She had said she wanted to, and every time I would call her, just to make sure she was still interested, she would say she was. So on Thursday, I called her to let her know I got hired on, and I was going to start needing her to work, and she said, "Oh, well, I've got so much going on this summer, I don't want to do anything on the weekends." So, I've been scrambling to find weekend childcare. I posted on ad on Craigslist, under the childcare section and in the jobs section under et cetera. And now I'm up to my eyeballs in applicants! I posted the ad on Thursday night/Friday morning (about 2am). Since then, I've had at least six applicants that I can remember. I interviewed one guy tonight. He's 19, a student at a local Bible college, and seems really sweet. He came by about 7pm, and I had started a stew on the stove, around 6:30pm. He stayed till almost 9:30, learning about Brianna, asking questions, playing with Brianna. About 9:00, my stew got done, so I invited him to eat (I made a big pot of it...put some in tupperware to freeze, some in tupperware to take over for Bob and Mary, and some in tupperware for leftovers). He asked me to give his girlfriend cooking lessons :-P. He said she loves to cook, wants to be a chef, but no one has the heart to tell her she's a horrible cook. So I guess he liked my stew :-P. I finally sent him on his way about 9:30, when it was time for Brianna to go to bed. I really did get a good feeling from the guy. He said he would like to go to school to become a kindergarten teacher, once his term at Bible college is over.

Tomorrow, I have an interview at 4:00 with a 21 year old girl who seems very nice, has good experience with childcare. I'm trying to set up another interview with a mom of five kids who wants to watch Brianna, as well. I would have to transport Brianna there, though. There's also another DCP who I might interview, if all else fails. Her rates are $4 an hour for Brianna, $3 an hour normally, so she's entirely reasonable in her rates. She has no experience with children with disabilities, but only one of the other applicants does. That applicant is 20 years old, and is a premed student, hoping to specialize in tropical diseases. She spent time doing volunteer work with the Ruel Foundation in the Phillippines, working with children with cleft lips, clubbed feet, and other disabilities. She is also certified through the World Health Organization in the integrated management of childhood diseases. She currently works full time at Applebee's, and leads the Wednesday Kids Night there. This girl's resume and experiences is seriously impressive. I have a feeling I'm going to have an incredibly difficult decision to make on this one ladies and gents.