Karma's Prizefight-Part numero uno

 As karma would have I have not waxed poetic about karma in a long  while so with that in mind I decided that I needed to revisit my old friend for she is long overdue.....

Karma's Prizefight - I have never been one to back down when going toe to toe with karma I always have my dukes up when she comes out swinging.

Round 1

In 2019 karma gave me a sucker punch right to the gut with the loss of my father his health had been declining but he was a tough old man so we all thought he would rally like he always did but a frantic phone call from my mother on a Saturday afternoon told me otherwise "Hurry he is coding" she sobbed. My heart skipped a beat my hands shaky as I tried to call my hubs at work. Hubs and my son arrived home quickly we picked up my middle daughter from work and sped several towns over to the hospital where he had been taken. Frantic  calls are made back and forth to my mom, to my sisters, to my oldest daughter who lived out of  town. Halfway there my youngest sister called sobs in her voice "I am here with dad he is gone, he is gone. She cried.

All the air seem to leave the car, I heard a roaring in my head, my mouth opened and gut wrenching sobs came out I could hear my husband telling me to breathe. I can't catch my breath. We made it to the hospital in record time I get out of the car on shaky legs hubs comes around to my side of the car and steers me inside the hospital. Its empty and quiet ,a nurse and my youngest sister appear and ask do I want to see him? "I can't" I croak my voice dry and horse from crying. We are all lead to a small room crowded with chairs the room is really small we are sitting close together our knees touching the nurse ask do we need anything? "Water please." I say the nurse disappears then comes back with several cups of water handing them out to us telling us the Doctor will be right with us. I take a sip of water and nearly spit it out, it is the most bitter tasting water I have ever tasted. I don't know way this sticks out in my  mind but for some reason it does. My youngest sister leaves to meet our mom at the hospital entrance,

They come back to the little room, the Doctor arrives she is not what I imagined no white coat she wears a pair of scrubs, she has frizzy brown hair she has pulled back in a bandana, crocs on her feet. She sits downs and tells us the life saving measure they tried on my father I understand what she is telling us but it all seems surreal. Any questions? she asked. We have none she tells us to take all the time we need. We all sit quiet for a minute and collective we all stand up making our way to the exit. But nature calls I find a small outdated bathroom, step in do my business try to leave only to find I can't open the door. I rattle the door knob, push on the door with all my might, pull on the door, panic, knock on the door for some reason I picture karma on the other side of the door holding it closed one last heave and the door flies open.

We ride home in silence, flashes of my dad play in my mind like a movie of us on his Harley when he was healthier we  would ride the motorcycle on weekends when the weather was nice the wind in our faces, the ribbons of highway beneath our feet, the rumble of the engine in our ears.

Round 2

Karma's right hook..... 

Karma blows in one dark and stormy night knocking out the power all over town for a day. Power is restored the next day, except as karma would have for us the electric company can't seem to locate the source of our power outage. We all have to work on Monday, what now? My mom tells us to come stay at her house, we pack some clothes by flashlight grab my little shih tzu gizmo, feed the cats and head over. The first night was anything but restful my dads parakeet chirped and talked all night saying 'I'll be back." gizmo didn't like all the chirping and "ruffed" his displeasure My dads old cat smoky not use to extra company meows his discontent at the foreign invaders. I am like the princess and the pea require absolute special comforts, like a box fan blowing in the background. We wise up and go fetch our  box fan for the next night but as karma would have it the wind is quite breezy and blows hard enough that it trips the motion light under the carport it blinks off and on all night shining in the bedroom window. It also blows the many wind chimes my mom has hanging on the front porch. The next night I swear my moms house or karma is out to get me, I am startled awake by the ringing of my phone I raise up to answer it only to knock myself silly on the desk placed by the bed, ouch that's going to leave a mark. I go back to sleep only to wake to the call of nature I step out of bed only to land on one of the many throw rugs in the house and immediately slip and slid across the floor after my  magic carpet ride  I fumble my way to the bathroom take care of business I make my way back to the bedroom where before I get in the door good I stub my big toe on an uneven floorboard I collapse into the bed and try to go back to sleep. You would think all the tripping, stumbling, bumbling around that I was doing that I would have disturbed hubs slumber but he snored away his rest undisturbed. 

Early the next day sleep deprived I dragged myself to work really wishing I had stayed home. At about 11:30 I get a text from the electric company telling me power has been restored, hooray!

Round 3

Karma's left hook.....

As karma would have it my car begin to malfunction a thumping sound could be heard from underneath and when you  reached speeds of about 60 mph the car would begin to shimmy we tried several mechanics in and out of town. But they all came back with the same consensus that it was time for that great junk heap in the sky I didn't want to get rid of my car. But when hubs came home with a tale from a co-worker who had the same year, make and model of car we had seems said co-worker was having the same trouble we were. She experienced a harrowing near miss when while driving her car the wheel came off. "That's it." hubs proclaimed "We are trading that deathtrap in before it gets you killed." We load up with a mission in mind. We took my son with us because he is rather tall and we wanted to sure he had plenty of leg room and head room in the new ride. As karma would have our salesmen was brand new to the business and eager to make a sale. Like Goldie locks and the three bears he showed one car that was to small my son had to squash himself down to try to fit in and even then it was a tight fit, one SUV so big I needed a step stool to climb in it, and 

finally one just right a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee special edition. We were pleasantly surprised that we approved on our own without a co-signer. And drove off that lot that day. I was nervous because we seem to be unlucky and don't usual experience a run of good luck.

Round 4

Karma's uppercut.... 

All seemed to be well  but karma she is funny that way I had long ago gave up my job at the home health company and was hired to work as the secretary at a mental health facility better pay, better benefits but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss my old job because it was not nearly as stressful as this one for you never knew who was going to walk in the door someone depressed, in crisis,suicidal, or someone schizophrenic. I had to remain calm, cool and collected at all times because if I freaked out then the clients may freak out. Then covid hit and the whole world seemed to go mad. The therpist could see their clients via facetime but if the client was unable to acsess wifi or didn't have a cell phone then they could pull up in our parking lot while yours truly had to log in via a tablet and take it out to their car. To say I was frightened of catching covid was an underststment. Hubs and my son were wearing mask of course as was I but still scary times. The plant were my son and hubs worked had deemed it unsafe for so many employees to work at once so they came up a schdule were they worked one week on and one off. 

It was about this time that I begin to feel off kilter like my body was not my own while walking the dog one sunny evening my left leg begin to tremor all I could do is hang on for the ride. I begin to notice I could no longer walk a stright line I would veer off to the left or right depending on which direction I was walking I remember thinking I hope I'm never pulled over and given a field soberity test I would fail. I also seemed to be more clusmy than usual for some reason I thought it was my body's way of dealing with the stress of losing my dad, the stress of work, and the stress of the pandemic. 

At my regular checkup I mention the odd things I am experirncing. I am told it is vertigo and given the name of a over the counter drug I can try.

As karma would have it another storm rolls in knocking out power all over town it stays out for a week no work for anyone. I wear 3 layers of  clothes to stay warm and even put a litttle puppy sized shirt on  gizmo to keep him warm, We cook all our meals on the grill. We take to sitting in the Jeep to charge our phones. One day the sun is extra bright so I sit outside in the sun and read. On day 5 the lights blink on I get excited they go back out they come back on for some reason I hold my breath I guess so I won't jinks it but they stay on.

We all go back to work as usual on Monday my balance seems off like if I turn around to fast I will tip over or wobble trying to stay upright. It goes on like this for a while.

 As karma would have one friday afternoon in June I am at my desk hard at work when the human resource girl and the tech support guy shows up, they come in my office all friendly like and ask if my co-worker is in "No she goes home at 2:30" I say "

"Well I need to talk to you." I think back as to what she needs to talk  to me about. "Well you see" she says "We are going to have to let you go" She tells me. I think who is this collective we she is speaking of I open my mouth but no words come out I stand there blinking at her and the tech support guy is standing behind her, I think  why is he here for her muscle, for backup in case I get rowdy? I close my mouth and open it and say "Why" she says something to the effect of "I don't know I was not in any of the meetings" I think of pleading my case but I am sure since the powers that be have already had a meeting their mind is made up. She looks around my office I have 5 plus years of stuff sitting around or hanging up. "You have a lot of stuff how about you let someone gather it up and bring it to you?" My mind which seems to have ground to a halt fires up again on all 4 cylinders "No" I tell her and step around her and grab a box of copy paper which I promptly dump on the floor take the empty box and start tossing my things into it, its her turn to look at me in shock. 

My fellow co-worker comes running into my office I think about how much I am going to miss her and my other co-workers. She is very much a take charge kind of person and she looked at the HR girl and told her to grab a box and start packing. I have never been let go from a job before the  only reason I left Kroger is because they went out of buisness I worked there for 21 years I think of the home heath company I was there for 10 plus years. My mind is working overtime HR girl says something about cobra insurance I know that shit cost a lot. I am done packing I am escorted from the building.I have never been escorted from anywhere before. I know I put most of my things in my Jeep I think my co-worker put the rest in but I don't recsall. "One more thing." HR girl says "Your Keys." In shock I hand her half the keys on my key ring not realizing some of my house keys were on there. My co-worker hugs me, my boss comes out and shakes my hand saying I was good to work with I got in my Jeep and headed home in shock as karma would have I can't pull into my drive way the garbage truck is in the way I sit behind it dumbfounded until they wave me around. On auto pilot I drive to my moms house I stumble in "I just got let go" I say.

My mom not one to take things laying springs into action boots up her computer to job search site, I scroll thru filling out any and all jobs I qualify  for. I also apply for uneployment benfits.  I awake the next morning with the sad realization that I have nowhere to be. My mom home for the summer from her job at the school invites  me over she has projects I can help with.

To be continued.....