Unemployment
It happens to a lot of people. It has happened to friends and family members. It has even happened to people I've worked with. But you never think it will happen to you. And we certainly never thought it would happen to us. My husband lost his job two weeks ago. Fran worked tirelessly for his company for seven years. He arose at 4:30am to drive almost an hour to get to work by 6:00am, and worked a solid twelve hour day for the duration of his employment, only to drive almost an hour home. He felt pressure to maintain these hours as he was the sole breadwinner for us as well as the manager of this company. As a stay-at-home mom to our wonderful little boy, I too had my job to worry about, but worried about him more working so many hours and exhausting himself for the sake of providing for his family. He was let go without a breath of notice. He never missed a day, never broke a rule, never put his feet up on his desk while sipping coffee for one second while managing the business. So to lose his job was quite a blow...to his ego, to our finances, to our employment status. But we vowed from second one that it would NOT be a blow to our family.
You never think it will happen to you. Then it does. And everything in your life changes. But one thing I've learned through all of this is that you are only as good as the way you react to situations. If we crumbled and fell apart, our lives would too. People we've told about this have complimented us on our positivity, even only two weeks out. We know it may take time to find another job (one of us plans to stay home with Reese). We know that I may be the one to return to work on a teacher's salary. We know that Fran may have to find a job that pays significantly less. But we are FINE with it. When you are faced with a crisis, you choose to either rise or fall. We choose to rise.
So we are now on to our next chapter. A new job, maybe a smaller house, a smaller budget, and lots of new experiences as a family given the gift of some time together. We can deal with that. It's all in your attitude and how you deal with things that come your way.
You are amazing Rachel, Fran and little Reese!!!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry Fran and Rachel. I will say, losing a job, is NOT a fun thing to go through, but you will do OK. Being unemployed requires you to make changes you never thought you'd have to, but sometimes those changes are the best things to ever happen to you. I had more down days in the beginning, but now having more UP days. Keep positive, keep communicating with each other, know the added stress will cause tempers to flare, enjoy the time together, LOVE each other.
ReplyDeleteHugs and kisses - Romi
You have the right attitude here Rachel. My family experienced a similar blow when Alice was 18 months old. We made decisions during that time that changed our direction as a family, and we recovered from the blow stronger and happier. I admire your insight. I wish I had worried less, and enjoyed our time together more.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. And keep us posted.
Cheers!
Lanette
Stay positive. You will come out on the other side of this as stronger people with a better sense of what is important in life and what is not. I admire your positive attitude. I pray that something better lies ahead for a three of you.
ReplyDelete