Reflections...

Today I received this email from a friend.

That's really terrific news about (your husband’s) new job!! I CANNOT imagine how stressful it has been for you all. Dear, dear me.

About a month ago, a colleague wrote and asked me if we were on the verge of “domestic homicide” since we were home together 24/7 in our 800 sf of love.

This year, and the last four months in particular have been stressful, no doubt. My internal clock has been all over the map. And up until last week, I was waking up every morning with an atrocious headache. I can’t say how my husband’s stress manifested itself; he keeps a lot to himself, despite my best efforts to coax from him. What I do know is we (meaning my husband and me, our son, the state of our family) were never the subject of my stress.

We are lucky. We have a strong solid foundation. We were always frugal to begin with, not ones to go out all the time. I dated the no-talent-ass-clown-loser right before my husband and all he ever wanted to do was go to movies, so as a result WE never go. Over the last four months in particular we have had a lot of fun times with our son, and have watched a lot of Netflix or played board games. We also have amazing family and friends, without whose support we never would have survived. I have one girlfriend who always, and I mean ALWAYS, fed my son and me when we went over for playdates and sent us home with leftovers. So he got good food, and I got a lot of good cooking tips!

I also believe God doesn’t put anything on our plates we can’t handle. I have friends who have had miscarriages, are having trouble in their marriages, are searching for their soulmates, who have health issues…the list goes on and on. We have friends that a few years ago adopted a child and it had to have been the most hellish experience I have ever witnessed. To me, our struggles in 2009 pale in comparison to what some people face everyday.

My saving ways will continue. Today I was annoyed when I realized that nearly the identical trash can I bought last week at Bed, Bath & Beyond was now 50% less!!! Of course it is, that’s my luck! But I was equally happy to realize that Safeway sells its generic yogurt for .50, as opposed to .80 for brand names at most every other store. That’s good!

I hope and pray my friends and family never experience what have gone through. But I also know many of them are equally strong and that you never know what you can handle until you are forced to. We have become a stronger family, have stronger faith, and ironically have more money NOW (even 9 months after the first layoff) than we did the day before my husband was laid off. (More on that later).

This isn’t a usual post. But since we are at the month-anniversary of the blog, I thought it was appropriate.