Life Lately – Summer ‘26

I really need to get back in the habit of writing again. So much stuff has happened in the first half of the year. Seriously, my life has completely changed! So let’s do a little catching up.

As you know, I graduated with my Master’s degree in mid-May this year. What I haven’t mentioned is that late last year, a dream job opportunity popped up for me. I applied, and I didn’t think I had a chance in hell at even getting noticed. It just seemed like even though I had all the skills and experience, any time I applied for big jobs, I’d be overlooked for someone with all the social connections. Much to my surprise, I was called for an online interview. I thought it went great, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much. Then I got called for a REALLY big second interview. There were so many people involved, and it took up a whole morning. It was intense, but I gave it my all, and I did everything I could to just be myself and keep it honest. At the end, I thought it went well.

I didn’t hear back about the job for a while. I kept going about my business because I was about to start my last semester of school. God and I had some very real conversations. We spoke about how I’m not afraid of hard work. He knew all the things in my little heart. All I asked for was for him to send me to where I was supposed to be and where I could continue to use my talents to do good. If it meant staying where I was or following a new opportunity, I was ready to accept my fate.

Then, in mid-January, I received the call, and I was offered the position. I was finally stepping into a director role in the type of place I’d been wanting for a long, long time. I said good-bye to the place that had been my home for three and a half years.

I took a leap of faith, and so far everything has been great! Of course, I’ve had to deal with the initial learning curve of navigating the workplace politics of this new place, but I’m sure by this time next year, I’ll be rocking all the Jessica Alexander awesomeness in full scale!

In other news, Aria successfully completed the fifth grade. My baby is heading to middle school! She was accepted to her dream school, where she will continue her growth in math and science. I’m a little scared because the tween girl drama has already started in her life. I’m hoping it doesn’t destroy her confidence in this new school.

At the end of May, as a reward for graduating, I took my little familia on a New York City adventure on our way to visit our family in New Jersey. We did all sorts of fun and weird things. We were only in NYC for four days, so we didn’t do all the stuff we wanted, but the things we did do were amazing! We’re hoping to get to do it again sometime and knock off a few more things from our bucket list. BTW, there were so many stairs EVERYWHERE! Seriously, WTF?!?!

If you follow my YouTube channel, I’ve uploaded the first part of our New York City adventure. You can watch it here: New York City Weirdness Crusade. I’ll upload the second part soon.

As soon as we got back from vacation, Aria abandoned us once again and is spending the summer with my mom in New Mexico. Vince and I miss her, but we’re finding ways to keep busy.

I decided that since I have some free time, I wanted to start volunteering again. So I signed up with my local chapter of Free Mom Hugs. I participated in my first event last week, and it was the best! I’m excited to do more!

So, I feel like my life is in such a good place right now. I was telling Vince that I’ve never been here before. For the first time in my life, I’m not struggling for money, so I don’t have to push a side hustle. I’m no longer in school, so my brain space is mine again. It’s nice to pick up a book for pleasure reading again. I have time to just be. I feel like I can breathe. I’m excited to keep growing in this direction!

I think that’s all for now. Enjoy a few more random pics of our year!