And the search is truly on

Sunday evening and aside from a massive headache all seems well. Ok so here's where I stand now. We have conclusively decided that we need to get out of this house, and want to move to the Memphis area. Of course this means I need to find a job that will certainly allow me to make enough money to cover bills as well as all other needs. I have a phone interview tomorrow, that I would like to believe is promising...

The problem is going to be this.. How can I take a job driving truck over the road knowing how difficult it will be to get them to work with my scheduling needs so long as we are living here.. Two States away from where we need to be? I fully believe that this is the type of position I need to make things happen. Not just happen, but also happen quickly. So that means that simply put I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I feel the need to be here right with my family at all times especially while my son is going through what he is. On the other hand I absolutely must get my family out of here and into our own home. That is where the home needing to be in Memphis comes in. It's there right by St. Jude so my family is as close as possible to where we need to be for my son. I would be able to relax my scheduling needs due to that fact. Which would allow me the ability to pursue any job I needed to in order to make ends meet.

On the down side. The only way we will be able to get there is with either a lot of help from friends and family, or for me to take a job in trucking. I am an experienced freight courier in either a cargo van or up to 19 foot box truck. I still need to go in as inexperienced for trucking as I do not have a CDL Class A only a CDL Learner's Permit. I do however, feel very strongly that not only can I do this and be able to give my family everything they need. I also believe that within 3 - 5 years ( if it takes that long ) I can get us the rest of the way out of debt and set comfortably enough that I can return to just doing a local job somewhere by the house.

So now the true search begins with many things to consider. First if I can land a Trucking job, then am I strong enough to deal with being away from home and family as much as I will have to in order to make it work. Secondly I have to consider the ability to work around strenuous scheduling needs for at least the first 3 - 6 months of employment while gathering the funds to find a home and move my family. Then come the concerns that will need to be faced after the move is completed so therefore have to be considered while looking. Are the school systems good? Is the neighborhood safe for my wife and children? Will they have everything they need while I'm not there?

So many things to consider. In spite of everything that we need to carefully plan to make this work, I truly do not think I can wait any longer to take action and start putting this together. My only prayer is that my family understands that even though I may not truly want to do it this way. I am convinced that this is the best and most sure way to make this happen quickly.

Good Saturday Morning!

Having a bit of a confusing day today. Well I filled out some applications on job posting web sites last night. Each marked with the desire to change location and where we would like to move to. Hopefully one of the companies I applied at will be able and willing to help me complete my CDL and work with my scheduling needs. The way I have it figured if we can move to Memphis and be closer to St. Jude then I wont have to be so particular about my scheduling needs because we'll be right there where we need to be. I still need to make certain that I can be home for at least three days at a time a minimum of once a month even once we can get moved to Memphis. However in the meantime, until we can move there I have to be home in a rotation of at least 3 days a month for Dr.'s appointments, and every eight weeks I have to be home for a week at a time for the follow up visits to St. Jude for check ups and basic "how are we doing" MRI visits. I still think it will difficult at best to find a company that can work with these needs, but I am trying to remain optomistic and going to fill out the applications and talk to the companies anyway in hopes that all will work out for the best. I have to do what is right for my family, and just accepting a job to have a job is not going to be it. I am going to need to insure I can cover the bills and care for my family as needed, which means I need something that will allow me to earn enough so we can get our own place, keep from going back further into debt, and get out of the house we live in currently. We'll see what happens. Everyone wish me luck, and we'll see if some of the trucking companies out there will be as understanding as I believe they will be.

My New Years Wish

That's right I said wish not resolution. I figure it like this. Every year people make a list of New Years Resolutions. All of these resolutions end up broken within days or weeks. Once in a while you can find the rare person who made it through the first couple of months of the year before breaking and having forgotten that it was a resolution anyway. So this year I am going to make a couple of New Years Wishes.

Since returning home from St. Jude my son has started getting worse again. Sadly it was like the moment we walked in the door to our home someone flipped a switch and he started refusing to do things for himself, he started staggering again when walking, and the bad attitude and misbehavior has returned as if we never went to Memphis and made the progress that we did. With that said my first New Years wish is that my son start getting better again.

Now as I have said in the past, all of us felt more comfortable and seemed to get along better while we were in Memphis. Of course, this leads into my second New Years Wish. I wish that we could somehow get things together and come up with the necesary funds to be able to move to Memphis and either purchase or rent to own a home that would meet our needs. I actually found one when doing an on-line search for homes in that area, but the agent hasn't returned my calls.

Obviously to go with the first two wishes I have to be able to follow up with one or two more. So here it is quick and simple. I wish to be able to quickly find a job that I can be comfortable with and allow me to support as well as spend time with my family once we get to Memphis, or be able to open my detailing business once we get there.

My final wish for the New Year is all incompasing. I wish for everyone to have a wonderful New Year! May 2010 bring joy and happiness to everyone. May the New Year be the upswing to what appears to be another depression in the U.S. Lastly I hope that significant progress can be made in the study of and search for renewable or green energy sources as well as significant advances in the fields of Scientific and Research studies.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Should a new year mean a new beginning?

Well at least I'm remaining consistant with the every couple of days thing. Anyway I was having a few stray thoughts. It seems we were all more comfortable when we were in Memphis, and after all Memphis is where my son's primary Dr. for his Cancer treatment is located. So I got a bit of a wire going this evening and looked up homes for sale or rent in the Memphis area. Now I am a firm believer in things no matter how insignificant they may seem happen for a reason. I found a home in exactly the area we were looking to get to if we moved for a fairly affordable price... That is if by some miracle we could come up with the down payment...

I honestly think the move would be good for my family, and would allow us all some peace of mind and well being. I just wonder how in the world we could possibly come up with the down payment. Figuring up the monthly payment we could easily afford it so long as I can find something working at least 30-40 hours a week at no less than $9.50 an hour. As an experienced freight courier I should be able to find that easily enough. So my question is. If an opportunity presents itself, and a person can figure out a way to make it work.... Should the beginning of a new year also be a new beginning entirely? I mean a change of residence, employment, and complete change of lifestyle. Just a wayward thought to be pondered.

I'm slacking!!

Grrr ok getting a bit frustrated with myself now. Apparently I can't even keep it together for a full week to post daily. Well again I'm two days after my latest post. This time however, I have a bit better news to share. I start a new job tomorrow. Not exactly what I was looking for, but it is work, and the owner understands and accepts my scheduling needs. This works out as beneficial to both of us since he needed someone to cover an opening, and I needed something to provide at least a meager income while we feel things out in the transition of coming home and getting adjusted to our new needs.

My boy is doing well. Aside from a bit of nasty attitude, and seeming to get a little worse since we've been home. However we were told this might happen and that the swelling should recede again soon. In the meanwhile he was put back on the steroids to relieve the swelling. Next week we go for Physical Theropy and Speech Evals with the local Dr.'s whome we have already asked to contact his physicians at St. Jude so that St. Jude is the facility in control of his treatment.

Hopefully I won't be too tired or strained tomorrow and can post to say how the day went. For the time being I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts for my son and my family. Just remember when you go to the gas station or the grocery store and someone is asking you if you would like to donate a dollar to St. Jude and put your name on a balloon or sneaker or something like that. The hospital really does get that money, and you never know. I pray it never happens, but you just never know if one day you may need to call on them as we have.

The Day After Christmas

For obvious reasons I haven't posted the past couple of days. It was family time. Christmas is over and now the fun begins. Toys everywhere kids having fun. Mommy and Daddy trying to remember where their heads are and keep everything cleaned up. Still the good news is we made it through the past couple of days with no major incidents. For now I suppose that's the best we can hope for. Take things a day at a time and pray for the best. In the next couple of days I have to seriously begin hunting the job market again. Time to go back to working for someone else, and pray they understand my circumstances and will work with my scheduling needs without giving me too much of a hard time about it. Good luck on that. The economy sucks, everything in shambles. Finding a job will be hard enough. Finding one that will be understanding? This is going to be a friggin' blast. Anyone know of a trucking company that will pay as you train, and work with a schedule of having to be home to take care of a child for a week at a shot every eight weeks without fail? Or perhaps a courier company that can understand you have to take off every eight weeks for a week? At this point I'm almost willing to go as an independent contract courier paid by the mile as long as they can work with my schedule and provide good milage. My truck can handle it. I just need to add a shell or get a trailer so I can haul larger loads.

Almost ready for the big day!

Well tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Cookies are done. Most of the stuff for Christmas Eve snacks/dinner is done.. I mean aside from what has to actually be cooked that is. Hopefully the kids will be happy. It looks like everything is pretty much ready for Santa.

Had a good day aside from the earlier headache issues. My son went to sleep without too much of a fight. He did try to convince Mommy that he needed her to brush his teeth because he couldn't do it. In the end he took care of it himself. Both kids are sleeping good, and anxiously awaiting the day after tomorrow.

Me?... I'm still wondering what to do about employment. I mean I have to be very careful to make sure it is somewhere that can work with my scheduling needs. Yet, at the same time I know what I would like to do as I am certain that it is the best way to support my family. Honestly I think if I could get my CDL I can get things set in a way that I could pull three to five years as a Long Haul Driver and then go local only and be able to cover everything the way it needs to be covered. Then again who knows. Maybe if I can pull off waiting till after the first of the year to attempt to find something I may be able to get something that I can be at least semi comfortable with and make ends meet.

Enough about that. Remember the holidays are upon us. Everyone have a happy holiday season whatever it is you celebrate. And by the way... If any of you have the power... Someone please send snow this way. I really would like for my kids to have a true White Christmas.