Failure? Is it? Is the theme. My story follows.
Crisis
Barbara curled a few strands of auburn hair with her finger. First up and then down. "Stupid!?!"
Her job had gone the way of extinct species. Her town-home was in foreclosure. What a waste. Life had never been this crappy. A degree in computer sciences did little good when no one was hiring. Where had she gone wrong?
Television was full of commercials to retrain as this, that, or some other thing. Retrain! Hadn't she spent enough time in college?
Newly divorced, her parents gone within a year of each other, her sister wouldn't talk to her, and the list of failures dragged on until Barbara was certain nothing good would come to her. She wanted to give up. She wanted to hide in a dark room. More likely she'd be under a bridge in a tent.
She had five brochures on various jobs. A veterinary assistant, a florist, a dental hygienist, a daycare provider and last but not least a social worker. Being a florist would be fun but where there really any jobs in that field? She didn't think she wanted to work with young children. That left three choices. The medical field was expanding. Social workers where in demand. But did dogs and cats really need her?
Monday followed her indecisive Sunday. In three months she could be a dental hygienist. Wrinkling her nose at the thought of the odors at a dental office, Barbara lifted the phone and called the school. Now that she had made a decision, her spirit lifted. She showered, dried her hair, put on a blue dress and drove to her appointment at the school. A smile touched her lips. The future looked bright.
283 words.
I hope you enjoyed my little tale.
This is a fictional story, copyright 2014. All critique is acceptable.
Nancy
16 comments:
Hi Nancy. Great to have you back! I really got Barbara's frustration with life. No doubt many will relate. I hope she enjoys the retraining and makes a new life for herself.
Thanks for posting for WEP Nancy.
Keep well.
Denise
Thanks Denise, it's good to be back.
Nancy
One of those milestone decisions. Well done. Enjoyed.
There are many of those in our lives, when we think nothing is going right, but sometimes, we fix one thing and the future looks better. A turning point.
I can understand the frustration of training for one thing and that being unavailable to live on and then having to retrain. Making a decision took away the feeling of failure.
Thanks D. G. and Sally
Nancy
Hi,
Enjoyed the story and liked esp that it ended on an optimistic note.
Nilanjana.
So true. Feelings of failure can be washed away with a decision and a determination to carry through.
Thanks Nilanjana and Scheherazade.
Nancy
As a social worker myself, I have to endorse the decision :) Love the sentiment here, sometimes life really does seem like a failure, but without those minor hiccups the complete person cannot emerge.
I wish it was easier though.
Hi Donna
Me too. Thanks for coming by.
Nancy
Hi Nancy .. decisions, decisions - but at least she made one and I sure hope she gets into the training and thus has the opportunity of more jobs ..
It is a difficult time ... but good to see you back blogging as you feel able, I hope! Cheers Hilary
Bouncing back from 'failure' shows character. I think the rest of her life will go well. I can relate to her also.
Thanks Hilary and Raelene
Nancy
Tuesday May 27th, 2014
Dear Nancy.
I can really relate to this story. I was at the community employment agency at learned that there is a 14% rate of unemployment in my town.
You are so right about turning failure around and doing something about it.
Thanks for visiting my post and sharing your experience with falling down and getting bruised.
I think it is a lot more common that you don't get the help that you need, which was why I was so surprised when I fell. But I doubt that the ambulance driver would have driven me home if I said that I lived in a suburb, a long way out of town. I happened to live near where they were going anyway.
Take care!
Anna
ox
Hi Anna
Thanks,
Nancy
Obviously I was not "in touch" in the month of May! I like how even though life is throwing at her more curve balls than she can handle, she IS handling them!
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