September 25th, 2009

Went out to the mailbox last night to gather Thursday’s mail. Two items. One was a standard junk mail about holiday-themed postal stamps. The other, a thinly-packed envelope from the local school district. That first piece of mail was recycled without a second thought. I took the second piece to Jen. She was reading in the bedroom, a normal part of her pre-sleep routine. She opened the envelope and read the one-page letter inside. Then, she let out a simple, “Oh my god!” In case you don’t know, Jen’s been employed by the local school district since January. And the letter stated that today (Friday) would be her last day in the district’s employ. No detailed explanation was given. But somewhat surprisingly, budgetary concerns weren’t sited as the reason for her termination. This morning, she reported to school for her final day. She spoke with some staff, including the principal, and it was confirmed that she had indeed been fired. But when she pressed for details as to why, she was given a line about insufficient “skill sets.” Needless to say, she didn’t stay to finish out the day. After coming home, she got in touch with her union representative. And while it’s too early to say, it seems like district administration may have pulled some shenanigans here. It’s doubtful that the union’s inquiries will lead to anything substantial. But it’s good to know that someone’s watching over the district in this matter. Regardless, all I know at this point is that Jen’s officially unemployed. And I’ll admit, I was pretty shocked for the first twelve-or-so hours after gaining this information. But throughout the day, I’ve come to accept this situation. And for some reason, neither of us is overly bothered by it. In fact, we’re both looking forward to whatever’s gonna come next. Of course, we’ll be affected by this financially. Like most people, we’re living paycheck to paycheck. No savings. Also, we’re likely to be without health insurance soon. Those are not small considerations. But we’re not drowning in anxiety over them. (Check back in a month or two to see if that’s changed.) I hate to quote overused sayings. But, you know, one door closes, another door opens. For now, we’ll take things one day at a time. ‘Cause really, that’s all you can do. Also, because I have a lot of experience in dealing with government forms, I filled out the online Unemployment Insurance form on her behalf. And I was surprised by how simple it is. I’m guessing there’s a real deal application that we’ll receive soon in the mail, and this application will have been made from the souls of many dead trees.

In the meantime, if you get any good job leads, please send ‘em our way. I promise that, no matter what the school district thinks, Jen’s skill sets are just fine. In fact, they’re pretty awesome.

Tags: life, money, work
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