Adjustment

It has been a crazy couple of months for me. I was just getting adjusted to being back to work from maternity leave when I found out that I needed to have my gallbladder removed. So I was back to work about a month and then had my gallbladder surgery. I could only take two days off of work as I did not qualify for Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (as I used this up during maternity leave) until September of 2008. Apparently, FMLA is a rolling year deal as opposed to a calendar year. Anyhow, I was lucky enough to have my surgery over the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday so I got an additional day off of work. My recovery has been pretty good except for the anesthesia withdrawal that I dealt with. I had such terrible headaches, fever, and threw-up. I could handle the pain from the incisions and surgery but those headaches put me over the edge!

January through March is my busy meeting time of the year. I have to organize and put on crop clinics, private applicator trainings (PATs), farm shows, different speciality programs, etc. I also have to attend trainings and meetings for my own professional improvement. I am based out of Turner County (my office is based in Parker, SD) and my new work area is in Minnehaha, Turner, and Lincoln counties. I used to work with seven different counties in southeast SD so I am happy that my travel has been reduced and that I work closer to home. I really enjoyed working with my old Field Education Unit (FEU). I have been having a rough time getting readjusted to work and to the new FEU.