When my dear father-in-law passed away in July, Doug and I made a couple of trips out west. We reminisced about the time that we lived in the west in the 80's. Closer to family. Warm. Beautiful. We thought about how long it might take us to be able to get back out there.
On our way home from our second trip to St. George, we decided to stop by a car dealership to see what opportunities might be available. They were thrilled to see someone with Doug's qualifications walk into their shop! It was pretty amazing. Of course that got us to start talking about the possibilities more intently. We decided it would probably not be as easy for me to find a position that met my skill set, passion, and financial requirements. But, once we found out that Doug and I would be lone parents in Pittsburgh... our wheels kept turning.
So, periodically I would peruse Careerbuilder. com, the employment site linked to St. George's local newspaper. At the end of September, I found an advertisement for this nine county organization:
When I read the job description, my heart started racing! I met almost every requirement that they were seeking!! Of course I applied... knowing how difficult is is to get a job during this time... I tried with everything that I had to NOT get my hopes up too high. I stayed focused at my current position. I love my job. It's not like I was unhappy there!
Somewhere around November 9th, I received a phone call from the lovely LuWenn Jones, the board president of the Red Rock Center for Independence, in St. George. I was invited to interview on November 15th. Doug and I decided that it was important for me to interview in person instead of via telephone or computer. There were some amazing things that happened that helped us feel like this was the right thing to do. Number one: we had a free airline voucher! Number two: I was able to walk into Macy's and find a nice conservative suit that fit my size 8 top and size 12 bottom! (It took every clerk in the store, but we did it!)
The day before in the interview, I hardly thought about it. I had a great day with my mom-in-law and felt calm and collected. As I prayed that I night, I remembered the scripture, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I was prepared. The interview went well. Have you every had a meeting like that and thought, "Man, I wish I would have (or wouldn't have) said, blah, blah, blah"? I didn't think that for a second! I know Heavenly Father was with me... guiding me. I let the interview committee know that I wouldn't be flying out until the morning, so if they had any additional questions for me, I would be available for the rest of the day. I went to the temple.
I was just getting ready to take mom on some errands when my phone rang at 3:00. LuWenn said that they should be finished interviewing the final candidates by 5:00 and they wanted me to come back at 5:00! I didn't have to wear my suit, either! So, I hurried and called Doug to let him know. I said that all I had to wear was my suit and my traveling jeans. He insisted that I find something 'business casual' to wear for the second interview. So, I ran to the mall, ran into Penney's and again found a cute outfit for my odd shape! I ran back to mom's, ironed, got dressed, freshened up the makeup, and made it to the center in time... where I was offered the position to serve as Executive Director! I start on January 17th.
I'm totally blessed! We are so exited. When I arrived home on Wednesday evening, Doug informed me that our realtor would be over in 3 hours!
Now to get the house ready to sell... gotta run!
