It’s been more than a couple weeks since I took on the austerity program, and it was about a week earlier than that that my husband got word of his layoff. He’s applied to several places and has actually had one interview at a firm he is extremely interested in. He’s waiting, however, for the final word on whether he or another candidate will get the job. He’s willing to make another effort at convincing the powers that be that he is the perfect choice, but it’s wait and see until then.

I learned the other day that a friend of ours lost his job, but he was let go under quite different circumstances. He was the head of an organization, its executive director, and he was ousted for what appear to be political reasons. His job is pretty specialized, so it may be difficult to find another similar position, especially in this town. But he has some recourse: He’s asking to be reinstated and he’s also filed a lawsuit because of wrongful termination. I’ve since learned that he was making an extremely good living, so I think the family will be just fine monetarily until the next job comes along–or he wins the suit, which is a bit different from our situation. Still, losing a job is stressful to the entire family, no matter what.

I was feeling pretty good the day I heard that news, not because of my friend’s hardship but because my husband had had that successful interview and because my friend had confided in me (after several months, I later learned) of her husband’s circumstances. It helps to have a kindred spirit, even if the circumstances are less than positive–or maybe especially so. The next day, however, I wasn’t faring so well. Or the day after that. Maybe it’s our suddenly gloomy weather mixed into the pot, but I felt as though I’d begun a downward spiral. It takes the right personality to be able to see the positive in things, especially during hard times. I’m afraid to say that I don’t possess that personality, although I wish I did.

I have another friend who’s much like me in our outlook on life: The glass is half empty; the sun may not come out tomorrow. Her husband went through a layoff a few years back that lasted six months and during that time he was quite ill. He finally found stable employment, but she is now forever in a race to build up the family income and savings in the event the pot boils over again.

I’m trying to see the sunny side of things and that if my husband doesn’t get this great job he’s currently after, another opportunity will come along. It may not be as perfect, but it will pay the bills. It has to be that way. It just has to. In the meantime, I’ll try to walk on the sunny side of the street and I’ll turn the burner to a steady simmer to at least keep the lid from falling off.