by Joey | Aug 14, 2012 | Throwback
First things first…don’tcha just love the new design? I owe it all to the sweet, lovely & talented Ms.
Carley.
On to business…
“Oh, so you’re just a nanny?”
Can we talk about this? Please? Yes. I have a college degree. In writing, actually. Well, more specifically English with a concentration in Creative Writing. I am an educated woman. [But I never claimed to be smart.–that’s a story for another day].
Would you ever utter the phrase(s):
Oh, so you’re just a teacher?
Oh, so you’re just a lawyer?
Oh, so you’re just a doctor?
Get my point yet?
People are suited best for different things. I knew at 18, thank God, that I liked writing and that I was interested in English. I never once changed my major. I was also not so naive to be fooled into thinking my major was actually preparing me for one specific job in particular. I actually kind of liked at the time that it didn’t. I felt like the world was wide open to me.
I tried the jobs, y’all. I really, really did. My resume is embarrassingly long ranging from Tanning Bed Manager to Account Executive for a newspaper. None of it was for me.
It wasn’t until this past year that I really, truly made the decision that nannying is it. For good. It may not be the most glamorous job [says the girl who literally swam in a pool of drool today], but I don’t think everyone can do it.
No, I take that back. Any moron can keep a baby alive. But I don’t think people understand what exactly being a nanny entails. And I won’t get into it right now. But I like my job. And I’m good at my job. And I sufficiently add to my household income and we can pay our bills.
So tell me.
What is everyone’s big problem with
just being a nanny?
Can we please take the just out now?
by Joey | Aug 13, 2012 | Throwback
I spent the weekend resting and reading.
And reading.
And reading.
I am the slowest reader on the planet. And a book of 500 + pages
usually takes me about 2 weeks to read.
Oh. My. Gosh.
This book was so good.
So good that you should go and read it right now.
I would share with you the blurb from the back of the book, but I never read them before I read a book. Call me crazy, but I like not knowing anything about the story before I read it. So I usually just rely on recommendations and finding authors I like and trusting that they’re good. And trust me, this book is good.
I will share this:
An unsolved murder.
A missing child.
A lifetime of deception.
Wanna read it yet?
I had never read anything by Diane Chamberlain, and now I’m dying to read
Secrets She Left Behind and others by her.
I was in no way compensated for this post. I just liked the book and thought you all might too!
by Joey | Aug 10, 2012 | Throwback
I’m sharing something sad today.
And I contemplated not saying anything about it at all because deep down it still really hurts.
And I really don’t know if I can take the judgement or the comments.
But holding it inside is making me a little crazy.
Remember Webster?
Webster is a troubled little kitty.
He got out just before our wedding and was missing for days. I left for my honeymoon not knowing if my cat was alive.
When my parents finally found him, he had been traumatized.
The vet said he had PTSD and prescribed prozac. I’m not kidding.
He was peeing all over my floor.
We tried calming collars, plug ins, attracting litter, safe rooms, mult. litter boxes, etc.
And then it all just got to be too much.
He did great in the cage for about a month.
And then he started peeing all over that too. And he cried and cried and cried.
In turn, I cried and cried and cried.
We tested the cage out for 9 months.
We were both miserable.
Last Friday, I drove to Raleigh.
And I gave Webster a new home.
My heart is broken; but is for the best all around.
Webster will finally be happy.
And even though I miss him so much, it’s for the best here, too.
I really can’t handle any of the backlash for this right now. I, of all people, completely understand how pets are members of the family and that we make lifetime commitments to them. But sometimes the only real answer to making them happy is understanding that we can’t provide them what they need. I gave Webster all that I had. I exhausted all of my resources over the last 3 years, and it was time I understood that he couldn’t be truly happy in my home. Webster was my little boy, and giving him up has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s been a week and I still want to vomit when I think about it. I hope you all can understand.
by Joey | Jul 11, 2012 | Throwback
I had a tough time just after college. I had identified myself for so long as a student that once that title was stripped from me, I felt kind of empty.
And while I appreciate my education; it shaped me more as a person than it did for a career. To say I was lost was a complete understatement.
I moved home into my parents’ finished attic. I convinced myself it was like my own little apartment, which to be fair, it kind of was. My confidence dwindled as the days passed by in odd job after odd job without a sense of belonging. I couldn’t understand why my friends were thriving and I was simply longing for the days where notebooks and pens were my best friends. I can’t tell you the number of jobs I had in the two years between graduation and marriage. My resume is embarrassingly long.
I had good friends at the time, but I needed more. I needed to know it was going to be okay. And I found inspiration in the oddest of places. I was into blogging even back then. Those were the days before I knew about “followers” and before I felt like I had to censor myself. And I happened to reconnect virtually with a girl from my major.
In those days it was so reassuring to hear her advice and see how life chugs along even in those tough moments. It was so hard for me to see outside my world, but it calmed my heart to know that she was talking to me from the other side. That virtual friendship was so important to me. And I’ll never forget what it was like to feel like I wasn’t alone.
And the funny thing is–someone can have such an impact on your life and never even know it. I was lucky enough to meet my once classmate turn virtual friend for coffee tonight. And I was sharing with her how her understanding and encouragement got me through all those tough spots. And she never even knew.
And even tonight, our coffee date encouraged me. I’m shaking the fear. I’m actually sitting at my desk for the first time in ages in the room dedicated as my office which I’ve been avoiding like the plague knowing once I put myself in there, I need to be writing.
I’m in here. That’s the first step, right? I guess it’s time to get down to business. Gulp.
by Joey | Jul 6, 2012 | Throwback
Dear last day single Joey (2 years ago)~
You were spot on when you wrote this in an old journal:
*I sneak out into the garage to grab a drink. Quiet and familiar, a break from the chaos. Heat radiates from the recently stilled engine of Mom’s Expedition as it naps, exhausted from it’s journeys to and from the airport. I lean against it and feel it warm my skin while my heart overflows. I take a deep breath, crack open the Coke can and open the door to the house. I take in the laughter and loud voices; my family. I share blood with some but love with all. I take in the moment as I realize it’s one of the last I’ll have living in this house. There’s a wedding tomorrow, and it will change my life and home forever.
Sincerely,
Joey, from your new life in your new home (present day)
*disclaimer: this was written in a journal just before I got married. We’ve been married for 2 years now, I was just happily reflecting. Sorry for the confusion 🙂
