{"id":22085,"date":"2026-03-11T12:22:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:13:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:13:30","slug":"job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"A Dee-lightful Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sleek black trousers? Check. Teal silk blouse and patent-leather pumps? Double check.<\/p>\n<p>I was dressed to the nines, but really didn\u2019t know why. It was my first day at my first job out of college. I\u2019d dreamed of a career in fashion, maybe as a style editor at a magazine\u2014something thrilling and glamorous.<\/p>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ada4f91 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ada4f91\" data-element_type=\"container\" id=\"home-banner-stn\">\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72e6e8eb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"72e6e8eb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Community Newsletter<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-261bcec elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"261bcec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Get More Inspiration Delivered to Your Inbox<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9787b46 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-wp-widget-ninja_forms_widget\" data-id=\"9787b46\" data-element_type=\"widget\" id=\"front-banner-signup\" data-widget_type=\"wp-widget-ninja_forms_widget.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<noscript class=\"ninja-forms-noscript-message\"><br \/>\n\tNotice: JavaScript is required for this content.<\/noscript><\/p>\n<style>\n<p>        \/* FORM STYLES *\/<\/p>\n<p>        #nf-form-5-cont {\n                                    background-color:#ffffff;\n                                                    border-radius:35px;\n-webkit-border-radius:35px;                    }\n    <\/style>\n<style>\n<p>        \/* FIELDS STYLES *\/<\/p>\n<p>        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-27-wrap {\n                                            margin:0;\nborder-radius: 25px;\n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-27-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field {\n                                    background-color:#ffffff;\n                                            border-color:#ffffff;\n                                                    margin-bottom:0;\nborder-radius: 25px;\n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap {\n                                    width:120px;\n                            }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field {\n                                    background-color:#00ab84;\n                                            width:120px;\n                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field:hover {\n                                    background-color:#00ab84;\n                    }\n    <\/style>\n<p>        <!-- That data is being printed as a workaround to page builders reordering the order of the scripts loaded--><br \/>\n        <script>var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id='5';form.settings={\"objectType\":\"Form Setting\",\"editActive\":true,\"title\":\"Sign up for Newsletter\",\"show_title\":0,\"allow_public_link\":0,\"embed_form\":\"\",\"clear_complete\":0,\"hide_complete\":0,\"default_label_pos\":\"above\",\"wrapper_class\":\"master-signup-form-wrap\",\"element_class\":\"master-signup-form\",\"key\":\"\",\"add_submit\":0,\"currency\":\"\",\"unique_field_error\":\"A form with this value has already been submitted.\",\"logged_in\":false,\"not_logged_in_msg\":\"\",\"sub_limit_msg\":\"The form has reached its submission limit.\",\"calculations\":[],\"container_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"title_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"row_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"row-odd_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"success-msg_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"error_msg_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"formContentData\":[{\"order\":1,\"cells\":[{\"order\":0,\"fields\":[\"master_signup_email\"],\"width\":66},{\"order\":1,\"fields\":[\"subscribe_now_1660636976556\"],\"width\":34}]}],\"changeEmailErrorMsg\":\"Please enter a valid email address!\",\"changeDateErrorMsg\":\"Please enter a valid date!\",\"confirmFieldErrorMsg\":\"These fields must match!\",\"fieldNumberNumMinError\":\"Number Min Error\",\"fieldNumberNumMaxError\":\"Number Max Error\",\"fieldNumberIncrementBy\":\"Please increment by \",\"formErrorsCorrectErrors\":\"Please correct errors before submitting this form.\",\"validateRequiredField\":\"This is a required field.\",\"honeypotHoneypotError\":\"Honeypot Error\",\"fieldsMarkedRequired\":\"Fields marked with an <span class=\"ninja-forms-req-symbol\">*<\/span> are required\",\"container_styles_background-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"container_styles_border\":\"\",\"container_styles_height\":\"\",\"container_styles_margin\":\"\",\"container_styles_padding\":\"\",\"container_styles_float\":\"\",\"container_styles_advanced\":\"border-radius:35px;n-webkit-border-radius:35px;\",\"title_styles_border\":\"\",\"title_styles_height\":\"\",\"title_styles_width\":\"\",\"title_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"title_styles_margin\":\"\",\"title_styles_padding\":\"\",\"title_styles_float\":\"\",\"row_styles_border\":\"\",\"row_styles_width\":\"\",\"row_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"row_styles_margin\":\"\",\"row_styles_padding\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_border\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_height\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_width\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_margin\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_padding\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_border\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_height\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_width\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_margin\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_padding\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_border\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_width\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_margin\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_padding\":\"\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"export_settings\":[],\"form_title_heading_level\":\"3\",\"ninjaForms\":\"Ninja Forms\",\"fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink\":\"Insert Link\",\"fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia\":\"Insert Media\",\"fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile\":\"Select a file\",\"formHoneypot\":\"If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty.\",\"fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress\":\"File Upload in Progress.\",\"fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload\":\"FILE UPLOAD\",\"currencySymbol\":\"&#36;\",\"thousands_sep\":\",\",\"decimal_point\":\".\",\"siteLocale\":\"en_US\",\"dateFormat\":\"m\/d\/Y\",\"startOfWeek\":\"1\",\"of\":\"of\",\"previousMonth\":\"Previous Month\",\"nextMonth\":\"Next Month\",\"months\":[\"January\",\"February\",\"March\",\"April\",\"May\",\"June\",\"July\",\"August\",\"September\",\"October\",\"November\",\"December\"],\"monthsShort\":[\"Jan\",\"Feb\",\"Mar\",\"Apr\",\"May\",\"Jun\",\"Jul\",\"Aug\",\"Sep\",\"Oct\",\"Nov\",\"Dec\"],\"weekdays\":[\"Sunday\",\"Monday\",\"Tuesday\",\"Wednesday\",\"Thursday\",\"Friday\",\"Saturday\"],\"weekdaysShort\":[\"Sun\",\"Mon\",\"Tue\",\"Wed\",\"Thu\",\"Fri\",\"Sat\"],\"weekdaysMin\":[\"Su\",\"Mo\",\"Tu\",\"We\",\"Th\",\"Fr\",\"Sa\"],\"recaptchaConsentMissing\":\"reCaptcha validation couldn&#039;t load.\",\"recaptchaMissingCookie\":\"reCaptcha v3 validation couldn&#039;t load the cookie needed to submit the form.\",\"recaptchaConsentEvent\":\"Accept reCaptcha cookies before sending the form.\",\"currency_symbol\":\"\",\"beforeForm\":\"\",\"beforeFields\":\"\",\"afterFields\":\"\",\"afterForm\":\"\"};form.fields=[{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":1,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"label\":\"Email\",\"type\":\"email\",\"key\":\"master_signup_email\",\"label_pos\":\"hidden\",\"required\":1,\"default\":\"\",\"placeholder\":\"@Your email\",\"container_class\":\"master-email-wrap\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"admin_label\":\"master_signup_email\",\"help_text\":\"\",\"custom_name_attribute\":\"email\",\"personally_identifiable\":1,\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":0,\"wrap_styles_padding\":0,\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":0,\"label_styles_padding\":0,\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":0,\"element_styles_padding\":0,\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"cellcid\":\"c4722\",\"value\":\"\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"wrap_styles_advanced\":\"margin:0;nborder-radius: 25px;n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;\",\"element_styles_background-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"element_styles_border-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"element_styles_advanced\":\"margin-bottom:0;nborder-radius: 25px;n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;\",\"manual_key\":true,\"id\":27,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"parentType\":\"email\",\"element_templates\":[\"email\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":2,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"label\":\"Subscribe Now\",\"type\":\"submit\",\"cellcid\":\"c4725\",\"processing_label\":\"Processing\",\"container_class\":\"\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"key\":\"subscribe_now_1660636976556\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":120,\"wrap_styles_margin\":0,\"wrap_styles_padding\":0,\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":120,\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":0,\"element_styles_padding\":0,\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"submit_element_hover_styles_border\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_width\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_margin\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_padding\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_float\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"wrap_styles_advanced\":\"\",\"element_styles_background-color\":\"#00ab84\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_background-color\":\"#00ab84\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"id\":28,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"textbox\",\"element_templates\":[\"submit\",\"button\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"}];nfForms.push(form);<\/script><br \/>\n                <script id=\"nf-tmpl-cell\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-fields><\/nf-fields>\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<p>        <script id=\"nf-tmpl-row\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-cells><\/nf-cells>\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But from the minute I settled in at my desk and looked around, I saw how far I was from that dream: gray walls, gray carpet, gray furniture. This was no glam gig. I was a receptionist at Rockwood Retirement Community in Spokane, Washington. What am I doing here? I\u2019m way overdressed!<\/p>\n<p>A few months before, I\u2019d graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in public relations and English\u2014full of optimism, ready to conquer the world. That summer my wonderful boyfriend, Jeremy, asked me to marry him\u2014a romantic surprise proposal with the promise of a Caribbean honeymoon.<\/p>\n<p>It felt like a fairy-tale beginning to my life in the real world. He had graduated with degrees in journalism and sports management, and now had a job he loved\u2014selling tickets for his favorite minor-league hockey team. I was certain my big break in fashion was right around the corner.<\/p>\n<p>July passed. August too. Still no job. No leads. Nothing. One morning, I buffed up my r\u00e9sum\u00e9 for the umpteenth time and prayed, Please, God, I appreciate all the blessings you\u2019ve given me, I really do. But can\u2019t you lead me to my dream job too?<\/p>\n<p>By fall I\u2019d gone from aiming for a job in fashion to scrounging the web and classifieds for a job, any job. I was trading in pencil skirts for pajama pants, confidence for self-doubt. Why wasn\u2019t God listening? Why wasn\u2019t he giving me an opportunity to shine?<\/p>\n<p>The job market stayed bleak. In late September, I came across a listing on an online job site: \u201cReceptionist needed at Rockwood Retirement Community. Greet and assist visitors and residents, operate the telephone system and direct callers to appropriate personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Okay, it wasn\u2019t a position at Vogue. But it was something and I needed a paycheck, so I applied. They offered me the job.<\/p>\n<p>Now here I was on my first day, wondering what I had gotten myself into. A woman\u2019s voice startled me. \u201cHello, who\u2019s there?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>Right away my eyes lit on her elegant red-and-black silk scarf. Christian Dior, if I wasn\u2019t mistaken. <em>Now that\u2019s a girl after my own heart<\/em>, I thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHi, I\u2019m Lacie, the new receptionist,\u201d I said. \u201cI absolutely adore your scarf. Can I help you with anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you,\u201d the woman said. \u201cI was hoping you could read this card to me. I\u2019m partially blind. By the way, my name\u2019s Dee and I\u2019m in apartment 712.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would love to! It\u2019s wonderful to meet you, Dee,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>I read Dee\u2019s card for her, and over the next few days we chatted more. Her life story was fascinating! She\u2019d grown up in Minneapolis, then worked for 20 years as a flight attendant for American Airlines back when air travel was luxurious and glamorous.<\/p>\n<p>She married a man named Mel, a general manager for Kaiser Aluminum. His work took them to Ghana and, six years later, to Spokane when he got a job managing the 1974 World\u2019s Fair. Mel died in 2003.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still miss him every day,\u201d she said. I told her all about Jeremy, how romantic he was, and about my hopes for a career in fashion. One day I mentioned that I\u2019d taken 15 years of dance classes and still found it to be a great stress reliever. \u201cThe time step is one of my favorites,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know the time step!\u201d Dee shouted. \u201cMy sister was a dancer on <em>The Burns and Allen Show<\/em> and she taught me a long time ago. Let me see if I remember how it goes&#8230;\u201d Right there by my desk, Dee hopped and stomped through the step. Of course I had to join her.<\/p>\n<p>We wound up bent over, clutching our stomachs, we were laughing so hard. After that, Dee would occasionally saunter over to my desk. \u201cIs anyone around?\u201d she\u2019d ask conspiratorially. \u201cI feel like doing the time step.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Word of our shared talent got around and other residents at Rockwood would ask us to perform. It became our signature showpiece.<\/p>\n<p>Six months after starting at Rockwood, I still didn\u2019t have any leads for a job in fashion. But I wasn\u2019t stressing about it. I looked forward to going to work in the morning, spending time with Dee and the other residents.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, after work, I\u2019d drop by her apartment. It was impeccably furnished with sea-blue couches, white carpet and a dazzling crystal chandelier. She would show me old photographs, her wedding dress, keepsakes from her time in West Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Dee wanted to know every detail of my upcoming wedding. \u201cWhat does your dress look like, dear?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a couture-inspired off-white gown with flowers on one strap and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p> \u201cWait,\u201d Dee said, cutting me off. \u201cI\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She rummaged through her closet and emerged with an ivory beaded purse. She handed it to me along with a picture of herself holding that exact purse at President Richard Nixon\u2019s inaugural ball! \u201cWould this match your dress?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, Dee! It\u2019s just lovely!\u201d It was the perfect \u201csomething old\u201d that I needed to complete my outfit.<\/p>\n<p>Dee gracefully declined her invitation to my wedding (it was a bit too far for her to travel), but as soon as I returned from my honeymoon, she wanted to hear all about it. I described the ceremony, dancing at our reception, snorkeling with Jeremy in Cura\u00e7ao and the colorful markets in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n<p>Dee listened intently, then gently squeezed my hand. \u201cLacie, always remember to give Jer a kiss at night and tell him how much you love him. Don\u2019t take these times for granted. I wish I had given my dear Mel more kisses and said \u2018I love you\u2019 more before he passed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Okay, Lord<\/em>, I said later. <em>I think I get it&#8230;just because I\u2019m not working at my dream job right now doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m not where I need to be.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That August, nearly a year after I\u2019d started at Rockwood, Jeremy got an offer for a great job in California\u2014one that we couldn\u2019t pass up. A few days before we moved, Dee sent me off with a party in her apartment.<\/p>\n<p>I looked around at all the residents. You know something? My self-esteem was back. And I had the job to thank. I was going to miss all my new friends, especially Dee. She\u2019d practically become my best friend.<\/p>\n<p>Dee interrupted my thoughts. \u201cLacie, how \u2019bout we do the time step real quick before dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I slid off my cheetah-print stilettos and Dee removed her pale pink pumps. We held hands, ready to perform our duet. Yes, God had led me to a better first job than I\u2019d ever dreamed of. A pretty glamorous one too.<\/p>\n<p><em>Read more inspiring stories about personal growth! <a href=\"http:\/\/guideposts.org\/free-ebooks\/paths-happiness-7-real-life-stories-personal-growth-self-improvement-and-positive-change\/download\">Download your FREE ebook, Paths to Happiness: 9 Real Life Stories of Personal Growth, Self-Improvement and Positive Change<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sleek black trousers? Check. Teal silk blouse and patent-leather pumps? Double check. I was dressed to the nines, but really didn\u2019t know why. It was my first day at my first job out of college. I\u2019d dreamed of a career in fashion, maybe as a style editor at a magazine\u2014something thrilling and glamorous. Community Newsletter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[376],"tags":[62,203,53,58,205,68,153],"ppma_author":[960],"class_list":["post-22085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-managing-life-changes","tag-blessings","tag-community","tag-dream","tag-guideposts","tag-sister","tag-summer","tag-travel"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Dee-lightful Change - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Dee-lightful Change\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sleek black trousers? Check. Teal silk blouse and patent-leather pumps? Double check. I was dressed to the nines, but really didn\u2019t know why. It was my first day at my first job out of college. I\u2019d dreamed of a career in fashion, maybe as a style editor at a magazine\u2014something thrilling and glamorous. Community Newsletter [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Guideposts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T12:22:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T06:13:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"438\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lacie Graf Hansen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"26096pwpadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3de82f93915f31e01af77401e9ca3ae4\"},\"headline\":\"A Dee-lightful Change\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T12:22:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:13:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1255,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Blessings\",\"Community\",\"Dream\",\"Guideposts\",\"Sister\",\"Summer\",\"Travel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Managing Life Changes\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Dee-lightful Change - Guideposts Articles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T12:22:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:13:30+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg\",\"width\":438,\"height\":315},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Positive Living\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Health and Wellness\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Life Advice\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Managing Life Changes\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/life-advice\\\/managing-life-changes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":6,\"name\":\"A Dee-lightful Change\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"description\":\"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"caption\":\"Guideposts Articles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3de82f93915f31e01af77401e9ca3ae4\",\"name\":\"26096pwpadmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8bf72cb4e2ce75944793f6bd6b8674828e40d0680aa6b7f152a5a0f7998c7a0f?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=gdb9667f85efad95ab795ed00d7db348c\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8bf72cb4e2ce75944793f6bd6b8674828e40d0680aa6b7f152a5a0f7998c7a0f?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8bf72cb4e2ce75944793f6bd6b8674828e40d0680aa6b7f152a5a0f7998c7a0f?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"caption\":\"26096pwpadmin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/support.pagely.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/26096pwpadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Dee-lightful Change - Guideposts Articles","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Dee-lightful Change","og_description":"Sleek black trousers? Check. Teal silk blouse and patent-leather pumps? Double check. I was dressed to the nines, but really didn\u2019t know why. It was my first day at my first job out of college. I\u2019d dreamed of a career in fashion, maybe as a style editor at a magazine\u2014something thrilling and glamorous. Community Newsletter [&hellip;]","og_url":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/","og_site_name":"Guideposts Articles","article_published_time":"2026-03-11T12:22:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-10T06:13:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":438,"height":315,"url":"http:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lacie Graf Hansen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/"},"author":{"name":"26096pwpadmin","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/3de82f93915f31e01af77401e9ca3ae4"},"headline":"A Dee-lightful Change","datePublished":"2026-03-11T12:22:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T06:13:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/"},"wordCount":1255,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg","keywords":["Blessings","Community","Dream","Guideposts","Sister","Summer","Travel"],"articleSection":["Managing Life Changes"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/","url":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/","name":"A Dee-lightful Change - Guideposts Articles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-11T12:22:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T06:13:30+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/deelightful_marquee-1.jpg","width":438,"height":315},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/job-nursing-home-inspires-personal-growth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Positive Living","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Health and Wellness","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Life Advice","item":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Managing Life Changes","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":6,"name":"A Dee-lightful Change"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","name":"Guideposts Articles","description":"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization","name":"Guideposts Articles","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","caption":"Guideposts Articles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/3de82f93915f31e01af77401e9ca3ae4","name":"26096pwpadmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bf72cb4e2ce75944793f6bd6b8674828e40d0680aa6b7f152a5a0f7998c7a0f?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=gdb9667f85efad95ab795ed00d7db348c","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bf72cb4e2ce75944793f6bd6b8674828e40d0680aa6b7f152a5a0f7998c7a0f?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bf72cb4e2ce75944793f6bd6b8674828e40d0680aa6b7f152a5a0f7998c7a0f?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","caption":"26096pwpadmin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/support.pagely.com"],"url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/author\/26096pwpadmin\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":960,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"lacie-graf-hansen","display_name":"Lacie Graf Hansen","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22085"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=22085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}