Changes...

Laid off. Position Eliminated. Unemployed. Ugh.


On Wednesday, Trey was blind sighted by the news that his job was being eliminated. I won't go into the particulars because it would just sound catty, but the long and short of it is that the powers that be decided that Trey's boss can now do Trey's (former) job and his own. If you ask me, the bank that shall remain nameless (because they could and would probably sue me for slander or something) can suck it (sorry, mom).

I, being the incredibly positive and supportive wife I am, cried for two days straight. For real. I kept saying I believed everything would be okay, but for some strange reason the waterfall continued. Just when I would get control of myself, I'd start bawling again. It was really kind of ridiculous. I started to think I needed some Paxil or something (wait...that might be for male pattern baldness. I needed the anxiety one. I'm getting my pharmaceutical commercials mixed up). I think I finally stopped crying sometime Friday afternoon.

See, I know - I mean I really know - that this is going to bring a blessing to us. I knew it all along, and I still know it. What I was so upset about is that I felt like they were mean to Trey. If you know him, you know he's pretty much the nicest person on the planet. I often wonder how I found this near-saint person, and how he puts up with me and my intolerance of ignorance, laziness, disorganization, and violators of personal space, just to name a few. On Wednesday, these suits in some office in some other town decided to be mean to him. It kind of broke my heart. So I cried. A lot.

But in the days following "the event" Trey got something he doesn't often get. The people around him rallied. The people in his office made him feel like the best thing that ever happened to them (work-wise anyway), and they expressed love and gratitude that people just don't give to each other every day. His family and mine surrounded him with well-wishes and honest words of confidence in him. Trey, being the fantastically spectacular person he is, has handled this thing with such grace. He has done nothing but keep his cool.

Life keeps happening even when something unexpected happens, and this weekend we went on with our plans to go to my parents and to attend my cousin's wedding. On the way home I finally asked him, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you sure have been in a good mood since you lost your job."

He didn't miss a beat: "I think it's important for me to be in a good mood now."

I agreed. After all, I fell apart for two days, so thinking he was on the edge would possibly send me over the edge and I'd likely be selling all of our clothes and dishes in a garage sale to pay bills that are not yet due while inadvertently taking male pattern baldness medication for my stress.

He continued, "I think of myself as a man of faith. This is one of those times when I have to act like it. I know that God has a plan."

The whole "God has a plan" thing is something we've often discussed in the last few days. But at that moment if there was any doubt in my mind about how faithfully my husband believed those words, it instantly vanished.

And here we are. He's been making phone calls and filling out applications and spreading the word that he's in the market for a job. Because I worked for him I can vouch for the fact that he's a pretty darn good manager of just about anything.

I think today we're excited. We're excited about the possibility of a fulfilling job where he can make a difference with the people he comes in contact with (because that's what he does best). Tucker is starting kindergarten in a few weeks, so we're going to have to get on a new schedule anyway. It seems like as good a time as any for him to start a new job. Of course, the whole getting paid thing will also be a giant plus!

So say a prayer to ask God to keep us positive and patient. And then ask Him to work quickly. (You can tell Him I added that part - He knows He hasn't given me patience yet!)