It Can Happen to Anyone!

(HERE ARE SOME ROSES FROM MY LITTLE GARDEN)

I originally started this blog to sort of keep a running diary of events in my life, and/or comments on various things I love and am interested in because I'm not very good a record-keeping at home, etc. Well, it quickly evolved into an art blog and I don't post nearly enough of what is on my mind because I am always so busy and don't manage my free time very well--and then, I make a little art and just post that. At any rate, I am going to try and expand my blog posts a little from now on, if I can. I'm just writing this to vent a little, and no one will be interested, anyway--but it might help me work out some frustrations!

It's just been over a week ago that I and my 4 year-old granddaughter were mixing up batter for my grandson's 11th birthday cake, when my husband called me and told me he'd just lost his job. I was so shocked and distressed, I could hardly function for a few minutes. I couldn't cry, as I had little Gabby right there with me. My husband had been working for this company for 12 years, and had made a lot of money for them and given them so much of himself--he's such an honest and upright and hard-working man, and so loyal--and this was so unexpected. His boss cited the reasons for the "layoff" as being the economy and cut-backs--and my hubby's job as being "expendable" because he was paid more than a lot of the other employees. We think it was more than that, though. They didn't even give him a chance to accept a lower wage, and they only let one other person go out of all their hundreds of employees. Ever since accepting a position here in California with the same company he was working for in Idaho, his immediate boss down here seems to have felt threatened (jobwise) and has never been accepting of my hubby's being here. This guy has been cool, detached, uninterested in my husband's projects and work, and has, more than once, been sneaky and underhanded about promoting my husband's ideas and proposals in meetings as his own! My hubby's always received glowing job-performance reviews over the years, except for this past one, where his immediate boss just gave him an adequate review--nothing negative, but nothing complementary. I'm not trying to be a "sour grapes" kind of person, that's not my nature, but this guy really was gunning after my husband, and my husband is such a good guy! He was really hurt, and has had several sleepless nights as a result of this layoff. How can you not feel hurt when you've given so much of yourself? It's hard not to feel angry. After becoming employed at the age of 15, and now being almost 54, my husband has never, ever, been let go or fired from any job, and has never been out of work, so this was just devastating to both of us. Although I have always been sympathetic to the many, many people who are out of work and always have felt so bad when watching the news about that, I could sympathize, but never really "empathize" with this situation. Well, now I can. Of course, besides the anger and depression that quickly set in, my mind was racing-- What will we do? Will we lose our house, not have enough to eat, etc. And, of course, I prayed--I do have a strong faith, and that in itself gives one hope, even in the most desperate of situations. Which we were not in--I just have the kind of mind that races to the worst scenario! Well, gratefully, there's a happy ending to our story--when other people in the industry found out, they were really surprised, and another firm jumped right in a couple of days later and offered my husband a job with them! It will be quite a change, and the pay is somewhat less, but we are very, very glad and relieved, and thankful, and anxious to begin anew. And hopefully, this economy will turn around so that others who are out of work will find jobs and have brighter futures--I will continue to pray for them.