Day 23: You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch

I know I have slacked a little bit on my goal to do 25 days of Christmas posts, but the last few days our Christmas mojo took a bit of a beating. On Friday afternoon, a week before Christmas, I got layed off from my job. It did not surprise me that they needed to make cuts since business has been slow for a very long time, but nonetheless it came as a big shock. I have felt the fear of getting layed off for most of this year, but since it had been months from the last round of cuts, my department only had two employees, and everyone believes business will begin to improve in 2010, I thought I was in the clear. I had survived! Apparently I was wrong. Friday afternoon brought words like severance, Cobra, termination, and I cleaned out my desk of 3.5 years where only hours earlier I ate treats from the office holiday desert party.

The days following the layoff have been a bit of a daze in dealing with the reality of being unemployed. Since I turned 16 I have always had a job with the exception of a month when I waited for a new job to start. Growing up my dad always had a job. I have always left a two weeks notice, and I've never been fired.

There have, however, been some bright spots. I get to spend the entire week with my husband who is on vacation from school. I'll have the chance to work on a number of projects around the house that I haven't had time for. I'll have time to bake. I haven't been very happy at my job for a long time and now I get the chance to find something else I'll enjoy more. Most of all it has been a great example of the importance of provident living. The preparations and habits we put in place have greatly lessened, though not completely removed, the stress of the situation, and since we faithfully pay our tithing, I know things will turn around soon. Six months from now we will look back on this and know it all happened for the best. Now I just hope that with Christmas Eve upon us, we can find a way to revive the holiday spirit.