Job, Susan, and Society

Ok, so I have been told (by my darling not-so-little sister) that I need to update my journal. Of course, she’s absolutely right; I certainly do need to keep this updated so that all my friends and family can keep up with everything that’s happening.

I’ll start by telling you that I am now employed with Express Personnel working at CSU Pueblo Continuing Education Extension in Colorado Springs. I work in the administration department registering students, creating instructor files, and other such administrative duties. The Express thing is a temporary deal for the first 13 weeks; after which I will take a test and go through the official hiring process with CSU. So, with Rule 3 in place, I am employed again!

Unfortunately, it all happened so fast that I still need to get Anthony into the Dr.'s office for a physical and any shots that he might need so that I can place him in daycare. Until then, Susan has very kindly agreed to care for him while we are working. I know she has her own goals though, so I want to get Anthony into child care ASAP so she can go about planning and meeting said goals.

I’m so grateful to have Susan living here now; not just for the free child care either. Having her here has relieved some of my loneliness; I now have someone to talk to, go out with, and even go to the gym with. She’s very generous with her time, and she and Anthony get along so incredibly well. Dave thinks its because we’re sisters and we look so much alike that Anthony feels so at ease with her. He’s probably right although I also think he remembers her from our trip to Florida last October.

Dave’s supervisor says that this whole “missing my son” thing will fade after a few weeks. As it is, I think about him every 5 minutes, and I’ve got pictures of him (and Dave too) inside the coffee cup that I got from Starbucks. It doesn’t help that Larry (one of the “been here longer than everyone else combined” work studies) has just become a foster parent to a 17 yr old girl who has two children (2 and 1) and needed to bring them in for a few moments so she could fill out some paperwork. I really had to force myself to keep working and not print out some coloring pages for the kids and even get some toys from the car so that the children have something to do while their mother sorted out her life a bit.

That whole situation has been stirring around in my head all afternoon; she’s 17, she had her first child when she was 14. Her parents are both in jail, and have been since she was 13. She’s been in and out of FIVE foster homes. Larry is her last chance; if she doesn’t straighten up and get a job within the next 30 days, and get her GED by November then her children will be taken from her and be taken in by Larry who will then foster them until he can adopt them.

It just breaks my heart to know that she’s just part of an ever increasing cycle of poor choices and hopelessness.

I think that if the time ever comes that we’re free and clear of all our debt, and are at a point where we could support another person, I want to look into the logistics of becoming a foster parent.

Oh, and PrideFest 2005 was a wonderful success, and I am extremely glad to have been able to volunteer for that. It’s so very important (especially in a town as conservative as Colorado Springs) to get the word out that we are all citizens of this country and as such should be equal under the law; including marriage laws.

Don’t have much time left before I have to go, so I’ll end it here with a promise to update this on a weekly basis. This will give me a place to vent work issues if/when they come up.

I still miss my son!…even the stinky diapers and stubborn picky eating part of him.