Not the words you want to hear. Ever. Especially during a pandemic. Not when you are a college dropout? Not when the person saying those words is the breadwinner. Not when that person worked in a “high skill” technical role with no college degree. Not when they are old, so old he is hiring staff that is younger than your children. Not when computer skills are abundant with more corporations hiring temp and offshore workers.
The competition is fierce. Heck, we all know of 100s of people with a similar skill set and work experience. There are kids that are also looking for better employment situations. We are all too aware of the changing business practices due to Covid restructuring.
How does someone with over 30 years of experience fill out an online application? Especially when we all know the algorithm is designed to kick out any applications that do have the college line filled in.
There are bills. Middle-aged adult bills. Mortgage, credit cards, loans, live-saving medical bills, college loans for the children, and a puppy that needs more toys. At this point in our lives, this is something we were not expecting.
Can’t you just cut back? Nope! Really? Let’s put it this way our son is paying for our Netflix bill, we do not eat out, and we have no car payments. To cut out any more will cost us money. Selling our house may give us a small amount of cash, but rent is more than our mortgage.
If your husband walked into a room and said, “I have been laid off”, what do you do? You do nothing. You make a cup of tea, sit down and wait. You let him talk. You let him pace back and forth. Or if he sits at his desk wondering why he is sitting there, you sit and listen. You listen to his plan about sailing around the world.
Because as much as you have written these thoughts down, he already had them in full force when he first sent your that text.
My husband’s livelihood affects our future. Retirement, our daughter’s wedding, and our ability to see our son during his two-year overseas post. Will there be enough time to make up for the lost income so we can live a comfortable and healthy life during our golden years? What do we say when our daughter says she is getting married and wonders what the budget is? How can you help your son bring his car home and take care of his insurance when any of our travel excursions are on hold? What if the next job doesn’t pay nearly enough to meet the current living expenses?
You pause. You freshen up your cup of tea and make sure your husband has something to drink. When the time is right, you talk. You bring up all of these concerns with each other and with your children.
Worst-case scenario, our daughter has a spare room.
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