In the summer, it is easy to spend my time in a manner that is meaningful to me. I go to the lake and hang out with my sister (#7), I play Canasta with Mother Fran, I kayak, swim and relax in the sun. I spend time with Child #1, Number 9 and friends. I work a couple of shifts at the Nursing Home and do plenty of yard work.
This time of year is a time of transition for me. My yard work slows down and I have a lot more free time than usual. Medicare enacted new changes to the reimbursement of Nursing Homes and they took effect in October. It is like they threw a rock in the middle of the lake and the shock wave hit once but the ripples keep coming.
I work primarily at 2 Nursing Homes and one of them stopped using per diem staff as soon as the changes took effect. So far my shifts at the second Nursing Home are safe but who knows what the future will bring? I have a sense that per diem work as I know it will end in 2020.
Sometimes we plan in advance and choose how to implement positive, meaningful changes in our lives. Sometimes we are just responding to the effects of the rock someone else hurled at us. I don’t really know what the future will bring but I would rather get ahead of it now then wait for the next big rock and the never ending ripples of change that accompany it.
I am not always good with too much down time. Plenty of time to think can be dangerous when I get sucked into worry, fear and negativity. Time like this can also be wasted by watching Netflix, playing on the internet or reading People Magazine. I can easily lose an hour by turning on the computer and surfing the internet without ever completing the task I set out to do.
When used wisely though, downtime can be a wonderful tool that ignites positive change. Guess I better figure out how to start to use my time wisely! I have tools in my toolbox that help me organize my thoughts, clear my head, and make good decisions. It is time to get ouf of my comfort zone, get off of my couch and start planning before the next rock gets hurled.
My plan for this week is to do some of the exercises I wrote about in Flip the Switch and Kick Fear Out of Your Way to help me decide if I should continue on the path of per diem Occupational Therapy work with yardwork as a side gig or if it is time to shake things up with a new approach to meeting my financial obligations.
Excuse me while I go dust off my toolbox, open her up and start thinking about my options!
Lake Girl
