A ton has happened in the past year and a half or so. Mind blowing, really. In short, 2011, sucked. Really, really sucked.
Shortly after my last post, in November of 2010, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer or renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in my right kidney. I had it removed February 17, 2011. I'm fine now. The margins were clear, but I do need to go back every year for a recheck. The emotional stress that caused was unfathomable. The physical was something I hope to never endure again. An open radical nephrectomy made childbirth look like a cakewalk. Even prior to surgery, I could barely get off the couch, cancer wears you down that much.
My maternity leave ended March 8, 2011. I was laid off, and knew I would be. I was still all hopped up on narcotic pain killers though, and unable to look for a job. I ended up unemployed until the end of August. I'd already used up all my EI benefits during maternity leave. We had no income from me once my severance was gone. Financial stress can be a killer, but we made it. And are forever grateful to our families. I got a full-time job that required a commute downtown, plus shift work in a call centre for one of our cable companies. It was great as long as I was working a nice daytime shift like 8-4:30 or 9-5:30. However, I ended up with 12-8:30 more than anything and was leaving the house at 10 in the morning and getting home at 10 at night. I barely saw the boys. Work-life balance is a myth. No matter what accomodations are made, it's just never right. I tried working 4 days a week. I used up all my sick time and personal days and was being spoken to about attendence within two months. I had little kids, who were constantly sick, it seemed. I left that job in January 2012 and went to work for a home-based business. A horrible fit for me personally. I didn't believe in a lot of what they stood for, and had a personality clash with my boss. Quit. And stayed home for several months again. Now, I work part time at a my favourite kids' clothing store and it's a great fit. I love it there.
Mike got another new store. More hours spent at work. During a standard, only running one store week, he works about 60 hours a week. Add in a new store, and we're hitting close to 80, 6 days a week. He's still covering the old one, working on the new one, and well, see you on Sunday because that's your only day off. That's done now. In fact, as soon as I was diagnosed, he told them because he knew he'd need extra time off.
Cole. Cole was assessed for autism during the summer of unemployment. He did not place on the spectrum. It was recommended however, that we seek out speech therapy (we were already on that), occupational therapy, and behavioural therapy. Speech has wrapped up for the summer and rather than just Mike and I understanding what he's saying, everyone, including strangers understands him 95% of the time now. MAJOR improvement. OT, he was slightly behind in fine and gross motor skills, but has caught up considerably thanks to preschool, which he started in September 2011. I have a whole Cole post coming up.
Carson is just Carson. He's happy and growing and 2 years old now. And totally suffering from second child syndrome. One year photos? Nope. To be fair, I was in the hospital when he turned 1. Swimming lessons? Nope. Because then what do I do with Cole and trying to get them both in their proper levels at the same time so I don't have to worry about Cole is next to impossible.
So, in short, between cancer, unemployment and the stress of having Cole assessed, and then me going back to work, 2011 blew. 2012 hasn't been so bad this far. Definitely much better.
