What is the etiquette, exactly, of sharing bad news? Does one assume one's friends will want to know, and therefore tell everyone, as quickly as possible? Or does one keep it to oneself, in the interest of keeping everyone's lives as simple as possible? And what about those friends and connections we make only through the internet? Facebook friends, some of whom I haven't seen since I was 19 and don't really ever expect to see again? Blog friends, who live far away but have come to be familiar faces of sorts?
I don't want to burden you, but it feels dishonest to pretend everything is just as it was last week.
Joe and I are both, suddenly, looking for jobs. Joe got laid off (downsized? subtracted?) on Monday. I spent all of Tuesday pulling together materials to apply to substitute teach. I expect to be working within two or three weeks. After I get a feel for the schools around here, I'll start looking for a permanent position.
Every option is on the table: we could move far away, Joe might go back to school, or we might stay here so he can do consulting work with the contacts he's made in the last two and a half years working in green chemistry. Maybe we'll move to New Zealand. Or Belize.
My mind is filled with all the possibilities that this opens up for us. I am strangely pleased. I know I may not be quite as pleased when the money runs out and we don't know how we're going to pay the electric bill, let alone the mortgage, but for now, it's all good, and I'm loving my life at this moment.
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8 comments:
Wow....(that's about all I have to say at the moment)...What's that expression...when one door closes another opens?
Or here's one of my favorites...
"One doesn't discover New Lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time". ~Andre Gide
You go, girl -- but give me some warning if you move to NZ, will you please?
You might want to talk to Amanda (you know, Yarngasm?) who was substitute teaching for awhile. She might be able to give you the lowdown on some of the schools.
The unknown is scary...or full of potential. And I always say: it will work out eventually, whatever it is.
It's not a burden, by the way. People, or should I say, I read blogs to hear what's happening, as much or little as the blogger chooses to share.
I hope this is a positive change, and not too stressful for all of you.
Whoah!! That's intense. I'm so happy though, that you can see all of the possibility in it. If you move to NZ, I'm totally coming to visit you, just so you know. But honestly I very much hope you'll stay here.
George was just asking me (on Monday or Tuesday) when you were going to teach another class, because he really misses your classes. But I guess that won't quite pay enough, huh?!?!
thanks for telling us. And you sound like you have a very good attitude to the whole thing. Concerned enough to take action but not panicky and desperate. I'm sure you will figure something out. Good luck.
Wow, way to be flexible! I stress out over well-planned changes, so your willingness to go with the flow is especially impressive to me.
Your approach is most sensible -- no doubt whatever happens you will land on your feet.
Sorry about Joe's job loss. It does sound like you're being calm and doing everything right in dealing with the situation--staying open to all the possibilities is the key, I think.
Good luck with subbing. I used to do that in college and while it was sometimes very hard to walk into a classroom of strangers and get through the day, it was also sometimes a lot of fun.
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