The unexpected!

I thought I had this year mapped out in my mind of how it would go, but it is amazing how doors open and change happens.  I wasn’t really planning on looking for employment that hard after my job ended in October, 2025, but I have accepted a new full-time position with NOCD.  I will be providing counseling to clients that mostly deal with OCD.  I am looking forward to the change it will bring.  The plus side is that I don’t have to worry about insurance since I will be working, with all the changes to Obamacare right now and the worry that them marketplace won’t be covering parts of deductibles I was looking at having to pay over a grand a month for insurance and on top of that I take a medication that I have been paying over a grand a month for out of pocket as it isn’t covered by my insurance.   So those worries will now be gone.  The big plus is that I work remotely and will be able to set my own schedule.  

I start work this coming Friday and then have a 3 day weekend for the holiday!  I am looking forward to being home as I have been gone since before Christmas.  I just got home today and am planning to spend the next couple days getting things set up for work and cleaning house.  I have gotten used to having time to do things like deep cleaning and organizing my house but know that working will cut into a lot of that time.  I need to go down and get my office set up for work, and then be organized and ready for Friday!   I plan on going back to Megan’s next month and spending a couple weeks.  I will be planning on doing some traveling and working while traveling in my camper office!!  

I got to spend the last 3 weeks hanging out with Megan, Lincoln, and Vallie.  It was great getting to spend time and get lots of snuggles with the kids.  Went to Butte to get to watch my godson play hockey.  He has been playing with the Butte Irish junior league but he is now transferring to Minnesota to play.  It was great to get to watch his last game.  Lincoln was excited because he got a game puck after the game.   

 Welcome to 2026.  I am so glad to say goodbye to 2025 but also sad to let go at the same time.  Last year was a year of great joy and also the heaviest sadness and grief I have experienced in my life as my husband passed away in June and life drastically changed.  In October my job ended and I was feeling really lost and struggling to figure out what my life would look like.  I spent the months since my husbands passing "running" and just being gone away from home, avoiding things and just existing really.  But as I welcome 2026, I have come to realize I need to get it figured out and decide what I want.  I didn't work from October until now and figured I wouldn't really be going back into the workforce full time and just traveling but I also know that isn't really what I want as I didn't have purpose for myself and know I need it.  

I accepted a full-time position with NOCD that I will start mid January and am looking forward to it.  I will be working remotely and able to still travel and work.   I have spent a lot of time avoiding being home and just staying busy when I am home.  I plan to spend some time this year doing some work around the house, getting underground sprinklers put in, a heat/cool split in the backroom, redoing my bathroom, having a gas fireplace put in the living room.  Just investing more in fixing up the areas around the house that could use some improvements and have been neglected over the years.  

I have been in Dillion for a couple weeks now and plan on staying here another week or so before doing a rode trip south for a week or so before working my way back up here to watch Vallie while Lincoln has Tubes put in his ears in Missoula and then heading home to watch Amanda's kids for a week while they are gone snowmobiling.  Then I will see how my work training is going and plan on heading down south for a month or so. I bought a Intech Dawn Sol this last fall and am loving it.  Easy for me to tow and travel with, gives me enough room.  

This year I am looking forward to health and healing as my journey continues.  I will spend everyday looking for joy, treasuring the memories but I just refuse to live in the pain and hurt without Sam.  I am moving forward living the life we planned and dreamed about doing together, it will just look a little different in doing it by myself.  Going to enjoy the next couple weeks before I start back to work.  Bring on 2026 I am ready for it. 

The experience of going to the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira was nothing short of amazing.  Our driver, Fernando, who we hired to drive us picked us up at 10:30 and drove us about an hour away to the Cahedral and waited while we walked through the Cathedral.  It was amazing to see the 14  crosses carved out of the salt rock to depict the 14 Stations of the Cross and then to walk into a major cathedral.  It was just such an experience with some great energy.  It was so spiritual to be so far underground walking through the Salt Mine knowing that  they carved each piece of it.   

After we got back from the Salt Cathedral, we walked up to the central plaza and just walked around, stopped at Crepes and Waffles (it was the first time we walked by there that they didn't have a line a mile long out the door).  It was worth the wait.   Then we ordered a pizza and went back to our hostile.  Spending the evening just siting around enjoying the views of the city.  Tomorrow we head out to another Hostile and meet up with the women's group to begin our group trip!