Flashback to early February of this year. I was getting into a nice routine with having two babes under 2 years old at home and being a stay at home mama once again. Joel was back at work after a nice 3 1/2 week paternity leave. Life was good, albeit busy.
It was Monday morning and Joel had just left for work. I was starting another crazy busy day, having already been up for 3 hours. I was just sitting down starting to plan out my day; when I would go on my run when Joel got home, what to make August for breakfast, when would I sit down to eat and pump. Then I got a call from Joel's cell phone at 8:15 am. I remember thinking how strange it was that he would be calling me from his cell at work because he's not allowed to have his phone on the call center floor. If he called me from work, it was almost always from his desk phone and he normally wouldn't call right after his shift started unless it was something important.
I answered, a little bewilderment in my voice. Joel came on the line telling me he locked his keys in the car and he wondered if I could bring him the extra set. I immediately asked him why he was at his car, when his shift had already started at work. He shakily told me "I got let go this morning." My heart sunk deep in my chest, similar to that feeling you get when something is very, very wrong. Our nightmare had just begun.
Joel had just started his 9th year at Wells Fargo. He loved his job. He was a model employee and was involved in not only training, but in lots of volunteer opportunities, Pride and Diversity Council. He was so loyal to Wells that he wouldn't even consider applying for other jobs, even after I nagged him to look at other options when his salary topped out and he was unable to obtain a supervisor position in credit card collections.
I won't go into personal details about why he got let go; our friends and family already know the political bullshit that was involved and that's all that is important.
After telling me why and how he was let go, I immediately started crying. I was scared. My first thought was "we have a 7 week old and a toddler, how are we going to support them and pay the bills?" I was also very concerned with how Joel would deal with such an important part of his life being, essentially, thrown in the trash. I knew how much he loved his job and how much of his identity was tied to it. I was stressed out about money, but I knew in my heart everything would come together like it always did in times of need. After the initial freakout, I felt a weird sense of calm. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have anxiety and stress out very easily. Why did I suddenly ave this feeling of peace with the situation?
I knew this was what was supposed to happen, even though it may not be fun right now, it would lead our family to better things and a better path. It would teach us a lesson. We would learn and grow from this.
Joel and I, ironically had been discussing him applying for other jobs just a month before his termination. I was tired of the politics played at Wells Fargo. He deserved a supervisor position got passed over by one after getting to the final 2 interview. The person in charge of that hiring ended up hiring someone whom she was friends with, that didn't work for the bank, and he ended up quitting 2 months later. Crap like that happened often (and I'm sure- still does). I was tired of his talent not being used and us scraping by with a salary that should be much more significant after 8 years with the bank, many of them spent as a team lead. I was ready for him to move onto another company that would fully appreciate his talent and drive. Maybe this was the universe telling us it's time to let go.
Within a week, we had set our finances up in order to survive for the next 2 months if worst case scenario happened. Unemployment got filed and we ended up getting approved after 1 month. Luckily, Wells did not fight it (most likely because he was a long term employee and he did not get fired for anything "bad".) We were lucky enough to be making close to the same amount of money we were making before, after taxes, health and life insurance were all taken out. We were going to be ok. And we are.
I have loved having Joel home. It has been a huge help with a baby that has a very different nursing and sleeping schedule than August ever did. I honestly don't know how I'd be surviving if Joel wasn't home to let me take a nap in the morning when I had gotten only 5 hours of sleep the night before. He has connected with August in a way he never had time to before. We are able to go out and do hikes and go on adventures in the city mid-week which we never would have been able to before. We found out last week that he got a 6 month extension on his unemployment benefits, which we were certain he would not receive- and he did. He has until next February to find the perfect job.
We are in a very transitional moment in our lives and the decisions we make in the next year will probably affect our lives for years to come. We are throwing around the idea of possible moving to Eugene if the right job comes up but ideally, we would love for him to get a job downtown and live in inner SE Portland. We've spent the last 10 years living in the burbs because that's where our jobs were and now that we are free of that we would love to move to Portland, where there is a sense of community and we can walk and bike practically everywhere. It is our utopia and it's ideally where we would like to raise our kids. We also have many friends and family in the area that we would hate to leave. In the meantime, Joel will continue his search for the perfect job and be able to spend lots of fun family time with those who love him most!
So many American families do not have the gift of spending quality time with their families. Our society puts so much pressure on making money and working long hours that sometimes we lose sight of what's really important in life. Being there as much as possible while your kids are still young is priceless. I know that we have been, and will continue to savor every moment that daddy is able to stay home with us.
So here's to a blessing in disguise. I know in my heart that this unfortunate turn of events will bring us happiness and lead our family to where we are supposed to be.............
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