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Sunday, May 31, 2009

The calm after the storm

I can't believe the end of May is upon us - is it really 2009 already? Tomorrow marks the start of June, the month in which I will turn 33!

Last night we had some serious storms blow through, with tornadoes touching down and large hail surrounding our area. While we had very heavy rain and lots of lightening and thunder, we had no damage, what a blessing! With the grass already starting to turn brown, we really needed the rain, though maybe next time a nice gentle spring rain would work just as well? Today is a beautiful and much cooler day - absolutely delightful.

I mentioned two weeks ago that I would talk more about my terrible week at work, and I've been putting it off...partly because life is getting in the way, but also maybe because it just doesn't seem real. Not quite two weeks ago, everyone in our engineering center was called into a meeting and we were abruptly told that our company was exiting our product line...all facilities directly supporting our product, except those they think they can sell are to be closed and they are targeting the end of this year. No one will be transferred, layoffs start in two months.

I know this has been happening everywhere, and especially in automotive. I've worked at my company now for almost 10 years, but many of my coworkers are close to retirement and have never worked anywhere else. We are personally well situated with our savings, and I had been wanting to go at least part time for awhile now, but many of my coworkers are single income or worked together and will both be losing their jobs at the same time. Our area is already super saturated with qualified job seekers... There are so many personal stories of friends I work with that make me tear up (darn these pregnancy hormones!) and beyond that I'm sad for what appears to be the end of a rich history of automotive innovation.

But this is supposed to be my weekly gratitude post, right? So let's get back to the grateful part. Here are some entries for the past week:

*We had planned for me to take unpaid time off after baby is due, and our savings is well stocked for my layoff*

*I've had the opportunity to work with some fantastic friends over the past years, and I'm sure that I'll keep in touch with several of them. I hope to be working with a few in our future endeavors*

*Sweet toddler antics and an eager smile help me forget my worries each night when I get home*

*The end of a near month long marathon of crazy work hours for EmDee, welcome back, we missed you!*

*Homemade popsicles on the back porch swing (which ironically isn't on the back porch, it's part of the swingset)*

*Planning the fun summer activity list always gets me excited for the months to come*

What are you grateful for this week?

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8 comments:

Tiffany said...

It's so sad that so many people are losing jobs. Your attitude of being grateful, even in hard times will take you far though.

HeatherPride said...

AT least you can look at the bright side! It is stressful, but give it a couple of weeks off work and you won't miss it at all. Good luck to you guys!!

Mommy2Twinkies-Deb said...

Steph--I'm so sorry to hear about the layoffs. I've been thinking about you with all this automotive craziness. I'm glad that you have your silver linings, and I hope that you personally ride this storm well... like everything else you do.

Marva said...

I just wanted to let you know that I am still praying for you! You will be fine...God will see you through!

We are thankful for unseen opportunities this week. We are thankful for great bloggy friends like you and thankful for my precious children!

Megan@SortaCrunchy said...

I am so very sorry, Stephanie, for the layoffs that are coming. It is amazing to see/hear your gratitude in the midst of it! Keep us updated.

Dawn said...

good for you for finding the strength to see the ways to be thankful! we have friends going through job layoffs and it seems devastating... i hope that you find the right thing for your family... stay strong and keep looking to the sun!

Jen said...

I will continue to be thinking about you through this challenge - hang in there. I've been amazed at how much of my definition of myself was tied up in my career - even though I am many other things that mean so much more to me than "accountant". I hope all of us will look back on these lay offs as a good thing in the long run - maybe it will lead us to something even better. take care!

Brooke said...

Oh Steph, I'm so sorry to hear about this. I love that you can take a negative and highlight the positive....what a wonderful trait you have.

And I can completly understand all that you are going through, especially hailing from Michigan where my family is deeply integrated in the automotive industry.

Hang in there, I do really believe that all things happen for a reason, as cheesy as that sounds.