So after a couple of months of covering layoffs and budget reductions at the local school district, the crappy economy hit home for us. On Jan. 2, my husband was laid off from the newspaper, along with three others. Fabulous. Happy 2008!! In a nutshell, the newspaper business sucks right now.
Actually, he's totally fine with it. He's almost giddy, in a way. I should be relieved that I still have a job (although I've become a little skittish at the end of the workday, because that's when they like to pull you into the HR director's office and ask you to give back your key.)
He was only working part-time and actually was going to quit in April anyhow. His wedding photography business is doing very well. He was given seven weeks of severance pay so it worked out pretty well for him. He's getting paid to go spear fishing for the next couple of months. We'll be up to our ears in smoked whitefish but hey, who doesn't love smoked fish...and maybe we can sell it on the streets in dime bags if we have to ...
But the whole situation has stunned me..I've found myself tearing up on and off throughout the past couple of days. I think I'm in mourning. We started our clandestine love affair at work more than five years ago so it's hard for me to imagine that we don't work together anymore. For the past six years we've gone out on stories as a team and frankly, in my highly biased opinion, he's the best photographer the paper has had.
When your hubby is laid off from the same workplace, it's interesting to see how people react to the news...some are very sweet, come up to you and tell you they're sorry, ask you how he's doing and how you're doing as well. Others seem to be happy that it's not them then continue to bitch about their jobs. And others avoid eye contact with you or simply stare, trying to read your facial expressions.
That's life, I guess.
The night he was laid off, my husband was flossing his teeth as he got ready for bed and his temporary filling popped out. Since he already had a root canal his dentist told him Thursday that as long as it's not bothering him he could just wait until his appointment to get it fixed.
I couldn't help but picture us living in a trailer, me and my unemployed toothless hubby.
I couldn't stop laughing.
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2 comments:
Oh, Jodie, I'm sorry this didn't happen on your terms. Even though April is right around the corner, it always sucks when you're not the one calling the shots. I've been there before and it does conjure up images of trailer parks and Zubaz, Doritos and lots of swearing.
I've even been feeling that way myself these last few days as I've stayed home with the kiddos - no steady work in sight.
But somehow, it all magically works out to be for the best. Only it's often only visible in hindsight. You guys hang in there and I'll hang in there, too.
Thanks, Rebecca. I was thinking of you as I posted that, knowing that you were in the same boat.
Hope all is well with you. Take care!
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