The Day I was Laid Off was the Best Day of My Life

The day I was laid off was the best day of my life, as it was the beginning of the best two months of my life.  The day I was laid off, I was a little sad, a little angry, a little worried, yet somehow I also felt at peace.  I never imagined the incredible amount of stress I was under at work; that is until that stress was immediately lifted after a short meeting with my supervisor and human resources.  I remember seeing my boss walk in my office that fateful Friday morning.  At first I was happy to see him, as I always had been.  My boss worked out of another office about three hours away, so I was always happy when he could come up for a visit.  We got along well, and often chatted about things outside of the working realm.  It took me about five or ten seconds before I realized the purpose of his visit.  He never drops in unexpected, and when that clicked, I realized he was there for a not so pleasant purpose.  I was taking the dreaded walk to the conference room, as many before me had also done.  I wasn’t the first to make that walk, and sadly was not the last either.  I don’t recall much from the actual meeting, but I left shortly after and headed home.  On the drive home, I opted not to call my wife, but rather tell her in person.  This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.  To tell my wife (and stay at home mom) that our source of income was gone.  I cried as I told her.  It was hard for me because I was worried about how she would take the news.  I should have known better than to worry about it.  She is a very strong person, and shares my sense of faith; that things happen for a reason, and they always work out.

The Planning
After taking some time to mourn the loss of the job and income, we started piecing together a plan.  We did some figuring of how long we could get by while I was unemployed.  Luckily I still had about 8 weeks of pay coming and some vacation time to be paid out.  Through good planning prior to the birth of our daughter, we were debt free except for the house, so we didn’t have to worry about credit card debt or car payments.  Then we looked at our emergency fund and some investments, to get a dollar amount to work with.  After determining what we had to work with, we looked at our budget.  We eliminated all the unnecessary expenses from our budget, and really tightened the belt.  We also set a timeline for finding a new job and a time-line for taking a lower paying job or having my wife go back to work.

I used my last two weeks at work to get my resume back in order and start networking.  I announced my job status to everyone I knew and sent my resume to them in hope of finding a connections somewhere that could lead to employment.  Two steps in avoiding worry are to make a plan and execute the plan.  By creating a plan and setting it in motion, we were able to remove the worries and focus on the future.

The Joy
After my last day of work, my days consisted of a couple hours of job searching every morning, and then spending time with my wife and daughter for the rest of the day.  This is where the good times started.  I NEVER REALIZED WHAT I WAS MISSING!  I thoroughly enjoyed spending day after day with my wife and daughter.  My daughter didn’t know why her daddy was home all the time, but she was taking full advantage of it.  We played with more dolls than I ever would have thought possible.  We played dress up and sang and danced.  We took advantage of the great Florida summer, and went swimming in the pool almost every day.  We played at the local parks and went on long walks.  I also took some days off from job hunting and went to the Disney parks.  We had year passes, so this worked to our advantage, although we did have to pack a lunch instead of eating at the parks.   I thoroughly enjoyed each and every day.  I hadn’t experienced joy like this in quite some time.  I have heard people say they would get bored if they didn’t have to work.  Well, I didn’t experience that at all while I was off.

After about 2 months I did find another job.  I knew when I accepted the job that I didn’t want to work.  I wanted to stay home and continue to be an active participant in my daughter’s growth and life experience.  But, financial obligations compelled me to accept the job.  As I look back, I can easily say that my two months of unemployment was the best two months of my entire life.  I’m glad I made the most of my time and spent it enjoying every day, rather than worrying about being unemployed.

As with most things, I knew things would work out and I would find a job eventually.  I had faith that my unemployment had come for a reason, and I now know the reason.  It was for me to enjoy time with my family, without all the stresses and time that a job requires.  I would have never considered taking two months off in the middle of my career to spend with my family.  I am so thankful that this time off was forced upon me.

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Tagged as: Faith, Family, finance, Happiness, Worry