It’s all about perspective

Last post in January? Yikes! It has been awile. Since January my main job has been to nourish and grow this tiny little canteloupe sized baby who is now 20 weeks along inside of me (in about four hours I go in for the BIG ultrasound … am I excited? MAJORLY!)Add to that my two toddling munchkins, handsome hubby, and a freelance writing/social media gig – it’s been busy. But you know how that goes. What mom doesn’t?

So why am I up at 4 am instead of sleeping … didn’t I just mention that I have two toddlers. Yep, definitely should be sleeping. My daughter snuck into my bed around 2 am and just can’t seem to keep those cute little toes warm unless they are jabbed into my back occassionally. After a few little jabs, I am awake and my mind starts wandering.

Boy oh boy do I have lots to think about. It is time to move forward in a big way. My main squeeze came home from work last night and announced that his department had been sold. That’s rock my world news – this little canteloupe would really like health insurance. We don’t know until the end of the month if he will be absorbed into the company or if he will be laid off. Pretty big ifs, eh?

News like this sends my mind into overdrive. The company he has been working for has been good to us and quite stable through these rocky years. Steady insurance = happy campers in my point of view. Crossing my fingers they’ll keep us, but preparing for that big ugly word … unemployment. yuck.

Fortunately it’s not my first ride on this roller coaster. As I grew up my family faced unemployment several times. I remember my mom finding creative ways to make ends meet. Cleaning the dance studio in exchange for lessons. Delivering phone books. We were pros at little side jobs. It worked and, probably more importantly, we kids worked.

So here I am thinking, typing, and planning in the early hours of the morning as my little family sleeps. You know the questions that come with unemployment …

… How can I help my husband find another job?

… How long will our savings last?

… How do I navigate insurance (SHUDDER?

… How can I best support my husband?

and the big one ….

…. why us? why right now?

Tonight as I thought about these questions, I kept coming back to the movie Soul Surfer. Saw it a few weeks ago with my mom and I LOVED it. Fantastic message. This quote stands out to me:

“I don’t know why terrible things happen to us sometimes, but I have to believe something good is going to come out of this.”

Perspective. That is what the movie gave me. You know the scene where Carrie Underwood shows the up close picture of the walnut and the fly eye. Sometimes we are too close to be able to see things for what they really are. We’re looking at this portion of our lives through a microscope while God has the whole span of our lives in HD on the big screen projector.

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/)

Right now we are drifting quickly to the Impact Zone, but there are more waves coming. Maybe better waves, better opportunities for growth for our little family. Or, who knows, perhaps we will be part of the lucky few absorbed back into the company.

So I am counting my blessings. It is only the potential loss of a job. In the past year, we’ve faced the loss of loved ones, health problems, car troubles, etc. From each trial, we’ve learned, we’ve grown. What do I need to learn from this potential situation? For starters, I’m taking in the rest of the great messages from Soul Surfer.

The best thing I can do for my little family right now is bring peace. This baby in my growing tummy doesn’t want to live inside one stressed mama. And good thing that toddler yoga book came in the mail yesterday … because I might need it more than the kids!

What tips do you have for facing unemployment? I would love to hear your stories. Post links to your blog posts if you have them!