Rejoining the Workforce

I haven't been blogging about this because it's complicated and stressful and personal, but after a long dramatic month Noah no longer has Medicaid. We have more steps we could take, but the stress was too much so we decided it wasn't worth it. We are anticipating about $600-$800/month in medical related expenses (aka copays & coinsurance from our private insurance) - I'm VERY thankful that the CI surgery and day patient feeding program were last year! This will probably shock you all, but our little family of 3 on my husband's Christian school salary cannot afford an extra $600-$800/month. After debating for a while whether it was most important that Noah get around safely, eat, speak, have healthy lungs, or not scream in pain from reflux, we decided that we really couldn't cancel any aspect of our medical lives so I'm planning to get a job. A day job (you know, like the one I got that degree for) is out of the question since I spend my days taking Noah to all of his wonderful, expensive therapy appointments so today I spent the afternoon applying at various retail stores. It was quite an odd experience because I've never actually applied for a job that I didn't know I was getting:

• On my 15th birthday I was getting pizza at my favorite neighborhood hangout when the owner said "Now that you're 15 you're going to start working for me, right?". I started a week later.
• In college the academic dean told me I should work at the help desk and called Technology Services to tell them to hire me. I didn't actually want the job, but I ended up taking it the following year since I was bored with easy classes (it's a good thing I did since that's where I met my husband!).
• In college I also worked for 2 professors at various points (one as a TA in his Ed. Tech. class and another writing grant proposals for a charter school he started) - I was practically begged both times.
• The school where I taught for 5 years before having Noah started soliciting me my senior year of college. I agreed to an interview only because it was a excuse to go to VA to visit my grandma and ended up falling in love with the school.

I know getting a job has a lot to do with who you know, but has anyone else made it to 30 without having to apply for a completely random job where you know no one and no one knows you? That just seems a little odd to me.

Keep your fingers crossed and say an extra prayer that I'll find something. We're not exactly destitute but it would be nice to know these expenses will be covered.