Starting this new journey has been slow. Right before I decided to start Paint Yourself Happy With Jen, I had also begun a new nursing job. Let’s back up. About a year and a half ago I graduated nursing school as a single mother raising my now 8-year-old granddaughter. While in nursing school, I made the choice to uproot myself and my granddaughter and move 3 hours from where I had lived my entire life of nearly fifty years to move in with my boyfriend once I had graduated and taken my boards. Getting permission to take my boards took forever, so I moved before I had taken my boards. I was so afraid I was going to fail because it had been so long since graduation. But, I didn’t!! I tried a short stint as a dialysis nurse and quickly realized it was not for me. I had been working through an agency as I finished the last portion of school and awaited my boards. They had allowed me to transfer right over as a nurse, so I picked up some shifts. Let me tell you, there is a reason that new hires are required to have one to two years of experience BEFORE working as an agency nurse! There was a lot of crash course learning. I was going to long-term and skilled nursing facilities (AKA nursing & rehab homes). It was stressful, but the money was good and I chose my hours and where I worked. Sounds great right? It was … for a while. Then many facilities began to do away with using agencies. My hours dwindled and money became tight. It became clear that I needed a staff job even if it would mean a pay cut. I applied for a full-time position, got an interview, and was hired but with a part-time position. I love my new job, but it comes with an extensive orientation period where I cannot pick up extra hours. What if extra hours aren’t available after I’m off orientation? In my plan-ahead brain, I began to spiral into a panic because part-time work would not pay the bills and my whole first year as a nurse I had not planned ahead or saved money. I had spent, done all the things I wished I could do before, and acquired new bills. What was I going to do now??
In recent years I have developed into a free spirit of sorts or perhaps I always have been. More now than ever I have found a need to make every effort to slow down my life and focus on bringing calm and peace to my world. Seriously, I am becoming my mother. I used to think that was the last thing I wanted to do, but now as I prepare to hit the 50-year mark in this world, the idea doesn’t seem bad at all. In fact, more and more I find I am more like my mom than I realized. Or maybe we are both just evolving in similar ways. After moving I discovered a love of painting after attending numerous paint & sips, taking on intricate paint by numbers, and completing online video painting tutorials. Painting became a great source of calm and recentering for me. I attended a webinar (that I thought was another video tutorial) that talked about starting a paint party business. I joined the community and heard everyone’s stories. Everyone came from different backgrounds and situations. Some have formal education, while others are self-taught. Some have been learning for many years, and others have only recently begun their journey. But they are all succeeding and enjoying it. I thought, if these people can do it, why can’t I? Really, why can’t I? The only thing stopping me is me. I can keep paying to go to paint these paint experiences or I can make some money doing something I love while I bring the same joy to other people. So here I am doing it. I’ve been a little slow getting it all going. Starting something new is intimidating and it takes work. Starting two new jobs is a lot and some days it’s overwhelming. One day at I time I am getting this all together. With each day it’s becoming clearer that this is the right choice… and all of the choices I have made leading up to today are the right choices. I have never felt such a sense of purpose and peace. I still have things I am working to improve upon in my life, but my career choices are definitely going in the right direction.
Until next time, and hopefully, it won’t be another month!