Waiting for the Shoe to Drop

Today I have a guest blogger – my sister-in-law, Rita Mireles.  I credit a lot of my blog endeavor to her (and a couple of other people) because she took time to help me help myself, and I will always be grateful for her and for the potential she saw in me.  I’ve seen a big change in Rita in just the past year.  She has become this fearless woman who has blossomed right in front of my eyes.  I have witnessed this new confidence overtake her, and I have also seen her gain Godfidence, which means relying and trusting on God. These two things helped Rita achieve the courage to throw away the keys to the door God closed.  Change is always hard, even if it’s for the better.  Change is intimating and uncertain, but going through change helps us grow in many ways.  And if we have faith, we know that all things work for good (if we believe).  Today Rita is going to talk about her hurdles in the workforce, the results of being unhappy and the power to believe in God and having him work wonders, even during turbulence. 

Waiting for the Shoe to Drop by Rita Mireles

Waiting for the other shoe to drop: to wait for the inevitable next step or the final conclusion.  

Yeah, …… sometimes things are just too good to be true so we hold on to this old saying because we know it’s eventually going to happen. Or at least I think that is what we’ve trained ourselves to believe because things just can’t go as we’d love them to, right? What I’m finding however, is that in my case, I don’t believe that shoe will drop and in fact, so far after taking the leap of faith to change my job, I’ve been so terribly happy, I’m giddy on a daily basis. It’s an experience I’m unfamiliar with because when did work ever feel nice?

What I can tell you about myself is I’ve been working since the age of 19 and now that I’m 40 (as of this year), I’ve encountered many career paths, stressful jobs, and the common place “mean girls” in my life! Another thing you should know is that I’m very non-confrontational so I typically live in the situation I’m in as not to be on anyone’s bad side. Very sad but true!

So what changed?  Heck, I wish I knew where to begin.  I think I could start with about two years ago when I went to work for a very highly regarded financial institution. All in all, it was a great job, with great benefits, great pay and perks to boot. Problem was I wasn’t happy. I’ve heard it said that your job is your job and nothing more. So if it pays the bills and takes care of the family, then why leave? Well, I’ll tell you.  After working the majority of my life, I want to be in a place that accepts me for me, with people who actually care about me. If I have to spend the better part of my day in a place that literally sucks the life out of me,  it should be a good sign that I’m not in the right place. And not only that, I’m so not one of those people who believe a job is a job! It’s like saying your life is just a life and you should live with what you are dealt. Ummm…NO…absolutely not! I choose how to live my life, with the people I love and surround myself with happy things, so why should work be any different? After two years of uncertainty, I finally, FINALLY, found my (work) home and I can’t begin to tell you the difference I feel.

I used to work in a place where I was told “You’re too nice”, “ You need to be more mean”, “You need to be more tough skinned”…and if you know me, you know I’m none of the above.  Then there’s my creative side that would burst at the seams to do something, anything fun  but where I worked, it just never panned out. I could go on and on (and on and on) about the clashing of personalities but I think you get the general idea. Bottom line is everyday I came home, I’d bitch about work, eat, then go to sleep with a huge stress ball on my neck and back and my family paid the price. I’m sure it’s not fun to come home to your spouse who simply can’t leave work at work. And I just couldn’t do that. Work was a part of my life and it was eating me up inside.

So fast forward to two and a half years later of feeling like crap.  Just pretend we are all sitting in a little diner eating breakfast with our mom and sisters for “girls day”. This is the setting I was in when God intervened and put a woman who owned a graphic shop, whom I’d applied with long ago; in the same restaurant with her family. I actually followed her to the bathroom ( I promise I’m not crazy) and introduced myself to her and she actually remembered my name. I just wanted to say HI then quietly went back to my mom and sisters and said “that was a sign from GOD” (my words exactly I promise). Well He did intervene that day and a couple of weeks later they called and asked if I was interested in a position.

It’s been a month now since I’ve been in my new position. I went from working at a building of more than 6,000 employees to one with only 10. I took a pay cut, and though I couldn’t tell my husband exactly how we would make it work, I just knew in my heart we would and that God would make that happen. I won’t get as many “perks” as I did before but I’d trade that for happiness and a breath of fresh air any day. As I told Shirley (my new boss), at the ripe old age of 40, I don’t want to climb the corporate ladder and get backstabbed on the way up anymore. I’ve lived that life and realized my life is too important to live it stressed out half the time and feeling bad the rest because my coworker decided I was the target that day. I traded a huge, beautiful campus for an actual family that I think are beginning to love me and my flaws and  I ACTUALLY have people I want to help anyway I can, instead of apologizing daily for all the small things people deem “important” which would lots of times include things like dirt on the floor!


To say I have a greater respect for the gift I have and can specifically see the change in myself is something I never thought I’d say but today I’m so happy I can!! So there’s a new saying I can go by and that’s when God shuts a door he opens a window. And I guess when you look at it (through my creative eye of course) wouldn’t you rather shut the door to a place that’s held you back and see what’s on the other side of that wind?!! It’s a whole new world out there for me and though I’m just getting started, it’s already made a world of difference!