[LM_NET] professional leave questions...

[Kelly Ayers <AyersK@MCSMAIL.NET>]

I am stressing over a personal decision: whether I can take a professional leave of 
(a minimum of 3 months) up to a schoolyear.  My husband and I have just purchased a 
very successful restaurant/coffeehouse and I would love to put all my energies into 
it, yet the haunting of trying to do this and going back to my full-time school 
librarian position is scaring me.  Before going into fetal position permanently, I 
thought I'd put this out to the LMNet crew and ask if anyone has been in a 
situation where they needed some personal time off to deal with things similar 
(health, family, job).  To further complicate things, this decision is not really a 
financial one, as we've already been proving that we can make up for my loss of 
salary, but the fact that health insurance could be taken if I were to go this road 
is what is holding me back from staying at restaurant.  I am epileptic and cannot 
go without medication or ability to see my doctor.  However, I am told I could pay 
out of pocket 100 dollars for a medical visit (which only happens a max of every 6 
months) and 30 dollars a month for my medications (which keeps my epileptic 
condition in check).  I am 37 years old, have recently had many tests and a 
physical to show that I am healthy, and figure that income will make it possible to 
get a health policy within the year.  

I am wondering others examples, experiences, and advice.  I am also wondering if 
the health insurance ideas I have are realistic or more positive/negative/naive 
than I am realizing.

Thanks in advance for reading my personal pleadings, and feel free to respond to me 
directly so as not to muddy up the listserv.  

Thanks!

Kelly L. Ayers
K-5 Librarian/AR
Central Elementary School
1315 Knoxville Hwy
Wartburg, TN 37887
ayersk@mcsmail.net
423 346 6683 work
423 346 5556 fax

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