Update!!!

Wow OK!! Last submission 2022.  What happened to me?  Well, I took a job that consumed every bit of myself.  I poured all of me into Providence Place Senior Living in south Minneapolis.  I jumped in with both feet and a heart full of listening, energy, love, passion, creativity and hope.  
When they called me about the job I tried to get anybody else to take it. I mean COME ON a senior living facility was going to HIRE an end of life doula- with insurance and everything? It was a real J-O-B?!  But I happened to like the job I had at the time. I could take an 8 min walk from my home as the sun rose. The people I worked for, my bosses, were these bad ass progressive Catholic nuns. One of the cars in the lot had a bumper sticker that said, "Let women be priests or stop dressing like them!"  Seriously what could be better?
When I asked my supervisor what she thought of the new job opportunity she said, "Providence Place?  Oh, you will hate it. It smells like urine and has a really tough population. People who have lived with trauma of one sort of another for a very long time.

Then I reached out to my doula posse. After a thoughtful pause one doula said, "I could really see you fitting in over there. There is a very organic sense of community.  They don't have all the bells and whistles of other senior living places. But they all look out for each other. I think you should go see for yourself."  That is actually great advice.  So off I went.

Upon entering there was a guy with a wild head of hair and some Captain America pajama pants and a Santa hat on his head wheeling toward me in his chair. He said "What's your name?"  Check the box of Welcoming Atmosphere. I said "Jane". We had a nice little chat and then I asked about the Santa hat. He said, "Oh I come from a long line of Santa Clauses and proceeded to tell me all the names of the men in his family who had donned that exact Santa hat.  He gave me a big smile and continued on his merry way.  I was sold.  I accepted the job the next day.
I stayed there 5 1/2 years. I am so grateful for everything. The hard work. The moments of utter despair. The unbelievable, make you levitate, magic and mystery. The soft connection with people during some of their most vulnerable moments. I am still unpacking the experience. I hope to include some stories here while I am processing what will undoubtedly be remembered on my own death bed as the most important work I did while I was on this earth.  Amen.