Joshes and Joshettes, this is the long -awaited Business Monday post. This post is also an update post even though I literally did one two weeks ago. So let’s dive into today’s post.

Before I get started on today’s post, let me start with an excerpt from the certified letter I received. If you have a doctor’s release that you are able to return to work with no restrictions before this time you may return to work, if not you will be terminated on August 19th, 2019 due to exceeding six months on medical leave. In other words, unless I can magically lift seventy-five pounds unassisted in the next seven days, I will no longer have a job. Currently, I am struggling to lift twenty-five pounds. This means next Monday is my last day of employment. This may sound like a good thing because I could apply for unemployment which is more than twice what I am making at the moment. That’s also what I thought but I can not receive unemployment while I have an open workers compensation case. Quiet the predicament, which is why I decided to do this post.

The termination does not affect my medical coverage or my payments from the insurance company. The only problem is the medical coverage only covers my neck and right shoulder and because I am no longer employed, I lose all of my benefits. After I received this letter, I quickly went online and applied for Medicaid. Was I approved? Nope, my application is still currently being reviewed and I will know the results in seven to ten business days. My old coverage runs out at the end of the month so I should be fine. There is no point in worrying about if it doesn’t go through because I honestly barely use it. (I used it last Thursday for a nerve test but other than that haven’t used it). My lawyer assures me that we will have a court hearing soon and the judge may grant me full pay again. But until then I am making less than two hundred and fifty dollars a week. At least therapy keeps me busy four days out of the week.

I know after reading my update paragraphs, you want to read about what I learned from being on FMLA. First I learned that it stands of Family or Medical Leave of Absence. The second thing is time flies and waits for no one. I can close my eyes and remember the day of my surgery as if it was yesterday but it was almost seven months ago. What have I accomplished, not much. I honestly took that time for granted, sure I have over half a book written and put out a bunch of poems. But that’s really it, I’ve done more with less time in the past. One could argue that I am injured, in pain and going to therapy a lot, but that’s an excuse. That’s why I made a pledge to myself to start reading again and if you follow me on Goodreads you would know that I’ve been reading three to four books a week. I’m not sitting down and reading from my collection of Hardy Boys books but rather actual books. If you are like me and have been stuck in a rut, try reading a biography like Willie Nelson’s “It’s a Long Story: My Life”. Everyone goes through it no matter who you are. (Not a big country fan, but I love biographies).

That’s basically it for this post, can you count on me for more consistent posts, no clue. I recorded my first podcast episode in nearly a month. I’ve put out a bunch of poems online that made all my Facebook friends think I was suicidal. I’ve also started a new YouTube series on my channel called 5 Things. But to actually sit down and start writing is hard. I sit there looking at my laptop and I can’t bring myself to make magic. I have a lot on my plate and believe me I’m trying. Just bear with me for the time being and I promise the content will come again. I want to start doing more book reviews hence why I’ve also started reading like crazy. I also have a couple of ideas in the funnel but I burn myself out especially physically when I go to therapy. Let me know in the comments what you thought of this post and also episode 53 of The Books By Josh Audio Immersion.