Dear Leonie, you know what - it's hardly crossed my mind to go back to work..............with all the stuff we have been through - why 'willingly' put ourselves through more. I had a temp casual good job just before Christmas - I walked into work and had just found out that day that (a) I had received a small gift (very small) from my late Mother's estate - oh yes! and the biggie (b) I had cancer. I sat down at my desk - my mobile went off, it was my estranged son (who'd lived with his father) texting abuse at me. I felt frozen to the spot and my mind went blank, someone rang me and told me I was 'supposed to be somewhere else' (it was immunisation day at one of the schools and I was supposed to be there doing the paper work) it occured to me there and then that I was in no position to be able to think straight, let alone carry out admin duties either at my work or on the moon.............I did the most sensible thing - I picked up the phone and rang my boss and told her, "Sorry I just found out I have breast cancer and I am going home" ...Well it went something like that, my boss later picked me up and took me to lunch, not a word mentioned about that 'cancer' thing......I told her I had no idea if and when I could return to work. She didn't have a lot of choice and as I was a 'casual' - they could dump me any time they wanted. Funny thing though, the job was ok, but the people? Lets say I haven't missed a thing! And even more hilarious - I've had an excuse not to go back to that treadmill of constant job hunting and only landing casual work and being so grateful for it because I am an 'older' person, Yeh, I really miss those 20 somethings condesending and patronising me at work - you know, big smile "Josie please photocopy 5000 of these" ...................me smouldering away at the photocopier until my feet hurt thinking, Yeh! I studied five years at university to be a casual admin lacky - being ordered around by a bunch of witless bimbos who never shut up, punctuating every second word with the word 'like'. Eg: "Like yeh, he was like really like cool, oh and that like dress, like wow, like I was so like amazed, like it was so like random!" I was thinking, am I on the planet X25YP with the 'Nostra-dum-ass aliens'? Who are these people? bloody freaks - and dammit, they get paid more than me (AND bloody sick leave!) I have to scrape and bow, kow tow and kiss the feet of some 20-30 year old jerkoff and be grateful I have this CASUAL job because Opps! I am over 35! This is fun NOT! NO Girls! I DO NOT MISS WORK!, writing this just brought it back like some kind of shell shock, that could at any moment leave me quivering and drooling in the corner - (Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! - so glad I got that off my chest) My sister worked all through her radiotherapy (told me it kept her sane - but considering her crap marriage - little wonder) but then again she didn't have chemo etc Some people can handle going back to work, but then again you have to realise if you work in an office like I did, the office politics is enough to make you pick up your skirts and run screaming out the door - With the experiences I have had, I have been in no rush! Honestly Short answer to going back to work Leonie? DONT! x x x hugs girl x x x
