Land of the Lost and Found

Where the heck have I been?

I last left off freshly divorced, with a leg I couldn’t walk on, living in my son’s basement, and getting ready to start training for a new job. That was in mid September. Now we’re at the end of January. What’s happened between then and now?

Let’s talk about the leg first. For those who don’t know or haven’t followed my tales, I shattered my shin bones on June 28th playing red light green light with my grandchildren a week after I arrived in Nebraska following a divorce. The result was surgery to insert a metal rod in my leg, fixed by two screws in my ankle and two in my knee.

I was meant to stay with my son just long enough to get a job and an apartment, but instead spent six months with him nursing me back to health. He and his wife served me food, did my laundry, helped me shower, carried me up and down the basement stairs. I was on crutches until mid November, and then on a cane until mid-December. I was walking by Christmas. I can walk now, but with a severe limp. Doc says that should go away within a year of the injury, so I have six months of healing yet to do. The cold weather has me in significant pain, and the doc said it always would because metal reacts differently than bone to cold. I’ve ordered all kinds of leg massagers, heated socks, heated knee braces, and everything I can think of to ease the pain. But I’m walking and that’s what matters.

Now, let’s address that job training. I attended seven weeks of on-site training learning how to be a credit card specialist for a major bank. I cannot believe the amount of information that got stuffed into my brain. I started working from home (my son’s basement) on November 14th answering calls from credit card holders. Because the opportunity was there to be had, I’ve been working 12 hour shifts 6 days a week to prep for my new lifestyle once I was well enough to self-sustain.

Since working for a credit card company, I’ve raised my credit score by 100 points. I’ve learned how to use credit cards for their rewards points, paying the balance off each month to avoid interest. I use a Walmart Capital One card with 5% cash back to order my groceries. I use a Capital One Savor card to get 10% off Uber and a free membership to Uber 1. I use my bank credit card for 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. It’s all about learning which cards pay the most in rewards and paying them in full by the due date before interest hits.

On December 27th, I moved into my own little apartment. It’s perfect. It’s a tiny one bedroom, but it’s mine. I was able to finance my furniture, so I picked out absolutely gorgeous furnishings perfectly suited to me. My family and friends helped me by turning my Christmas presents into housewarming gifts of things I’d picked out on my Amazon list, including pink pots and pans, cherry blossom dishes, a pink griddle, pink rice cooker, pink kitchen gadgets like garlic press, ice cream scoop, and spatulas. My bed and sofas are gray, so there’s a pink and gray cherry blossom theme happening. I’ve been here for a month as of tomorrow and I am truly happier than I have ever been in my life.

My apartment comes fully stocked with amenities — pool, fitness center, package delivery service, on-site handymen, on-site pet grooming, on-site massage, on-site personal trainers, fitness classes, handymen, and social events. I feel blessed — and I pay about $1,000 a month, including my internet, water, sewer, and a maintenance fee.

I’ll probably never drive again. Not only is my right leg out of service, but driving gives me anxiety, and the cost and responsibility of owning a car are more than I want to handle, so I’ve happily adapted to taking Uber Comfort to all the places I need to go. I used to be incapacitated by mental health, suffering from bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, ADD, and PTSD. However, with medication, therapy, and an environment where I’m fully supported with love and encouragement, I have blossomed into a strong, healthy, independent woman.

I’ve been continuing to freelance for the digital marketing company, but I haven’t been writing for the content brokers or on Medium because I’ve been in such a state of transition, and because I’ve been working 12 hour days and freelancing on the weekends.

My dog is a hot mess. I’ve hired a personal trainer who confirmed my dog is one of the most anxious dogs she’s ever encountered and recommended Prozac. I have a vet appointment this Saturday. The trainer also has us doing lots of “brain games” with activities like lick mats, foraging mats for feeding, and “hide and seek” with treats. We have to wait until the dog has been medicated for two weeks, then we can resume training. The dog gets aggressive with other dogs, bikes, scooters, roller skates, sounds, and men. I’ve also got her a thunder shirt and I play brown noise during the day while I’m working to drown out the other sounds from the apartment building.

Being here has allowed me to form such a remarkable relationship with my grandchildren. I cannot express how fulfilling it is when they’re happy to see me, full of hugs, want to come over, and invite me to their school events. They also video chat with me and text me via Facebook Messenger for kids — even though I only live literally two minutes and 45 seconds from their house.

I’ve missed Medium. I’m going to try to pop in as I can and increase the time I have available as I adjust to my new lifestyle.

So that’s where I’ve been. I’ve been becoming a butterfly.