I worked so hard to put it behind me, so why am I looking back now?
I got an email today from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, letting me know that I had new correspondence to read on their official website.
I opened the letter that awaited me and almost spit water everywhere.
Apparently, after filing multiple times, being rejected an equal number of times, and one solid appeal later... the state of Ohio has deemed me worthy of unemployment benefits.
Five. Months. Later. Side eye, Ohio. I gave up on you months ago.
For those of you following along at home, yes, it has been five months nearly to the day since I lost my job, a life-changing event that I can now say was one of the best (and worst) things that ever happened to me.
Yes, I was terrified and uncertain. But the experience forced me to release things that are out of my control (i.e. the unemployment benefit appeals process), and trust the timing of my life. And in just six short (very long) weeks, I accepted a job that put me back among friends I consider family.
I miss Cleveland. I miss it all the time. I miss my friends, my home, my community, the life I built there. But the "missing" isn't a painful longing. Thinking back on it gives me a happy feeling, and the idea that maybe someday I might return.
The same feeling I had when I thought about Memphis.
You can look back at the the saga of the first two weeks of unemployment, and please enjoy the moment on Day 2 when I actually praised the ODJFS for the application ease!
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