House of cards...

Today my life went “poof’ in a matter of moments…all the delicate pieces of my world collapsed like a house of cards. This morning my husband got up at 5:30AM like he always does, took his shower, kissed me on the cheek and left for work…at 8:15AM he was back with a packet of papers in his hand. After 11 years of being an outstanding, hard-working employee of EMH&T, he was let go. 24 other people were also let go – due to down-sizing. EMH&T’s biggest clients are MI Homes and Dominion Homes, and since the housing market is in the gutter so (apparently) are EMH&T’s profits.

The layoff came as a complete surprise. I was foolish to think that Brian would be safe from such actions because he has worked there for so long and has always received excellent reviews. The problem is he was there so long that it was cheaper to fire him and keep the new, part-time worker. He works much harder than his supervisor, but his supervisor is a “company man” who sucks-up to the right people…so Brian had to go.

I’m still in shock. Our whole life centered on Brian having a job, insurance and benefits. Now we have only until March 31st before our insurance disappears…but our son will still have a life-long disease. I’m worried about any new insurance covering his diabetes care – because it is a pre-existing condition. We might have to wait a year before a new company’s insurance will cover his treatments. This is my biggest worry.

They gave Brian a month’s pay in severance. So we will be OK for awhile, but the only savings we have is what is left of our tax refund. I’ve got so many things running through my head now – I don’t know what to do. I told Brian to roll his 401K into our other account. He thought about cashing it out with a penalty, but he is in his mid-forties and I think we would be smarter to roll it over instead.

There is a piece of good news. He already has an interview on Monday. Turns out that the manager at Atlas Blueprints found out about Brian being out of a job and he wants to see if Brian might work there. Brian knows this manager fairly well and he would be doing the same basic job…but they already told him that they are not sure they could start him at his previous wage. Brian made most of his money working OT at EMH&T, so if there is no OT at Atlas and they couldn’t pay him the same wage – well, we don’t know if he can accept the offer. In this terrible business climate, however, can we afford not to say yes?! I’m also worried that Brian will say yes to this job just to have a paycheck…but without thinking about whether he really wants to do the same work again. I want him to do what is best for him and for us. If he has to be without his job, I want him to be happy at his new job.

That also leaves me with the question – do I go get a job instead and let Brian feel out what he wants? Do we go ahead and buy the second car we planned on buying so we can both work – as we planned? Who’s going to give us a car loan with Brian starting at a new company so soon? Are we just plain fucked?

I’m also wondering if this is not exactly what we needed to happen…now we have nothing to tie us here. We could move like we’ve talked about. Is this a blessing in disguise? Will we be throwing away “our chance” if he jumps at the first offer?

So there you have it: lots of questions, and no easy answers. I feel completely lost. I’m standing in a sinking boat with only a juice glass to bail the water out. What’s going to happen to my family now?