Year III.5

I feel like this year is like a bad Windows version. Some years are just like that. A new version comes out and you wonder, have they worked out the glitches yet? I prefer not to get the updates right away. Take time, let someone else figure out the holes in the plan. But you can't do that with the time continuum now, can you? The system breaks down, one that was working perfectly fine before the update, and now you've got to add/delete programs and reboot.

Everyone is still healthy. I'm still employed, although a minor glitch there is that we've been through a lot of transition and I'm working too much. We are moving toward balance again and I hope to achieve it before Christmas. The kids are all in school and liking most of it. The dog is healthy and happy. The glitch is Paul's job. Back in April, they moved his entire department to the company they had bought out, eliminating his position. He had the opportunity to apply for jobs within the company and found one in underwriting the day before the deadline. He's worked in underwriting before and it wasn't his favorite, but he figured it was do-able.

He's been at it for four months, and by month three we knew that this was not going to be a long term solution, as he was not happy and having much more difficulty with the job than he had anticipated. So he put a few feelers out, but couldn't move on them due to constraints within the company. Long story short, they gave him a written warning, then let him go before he had a chance to fulfill the goals on the warning. He's been there successfully for over 14 years, so we really didn't expect an abrupt end. Can anyone say, "System Down"?

For those of you who are the worrying type, you can all chill out, we are financially stable and will do just fine on my high paying social work job. We are very thankful for that.

But we are definitely regrouping. This would be the phase with the computer when you try to figure out how much you've lost, and remember that you didn't back up any of the stuff you meant to. For instance, I'm not so worried about the financial part, because that didn't get eaten up in the crash, but I wish we had a way to stick with our same health care plan, because it is such a pain to find new doctors and dentists and start all over. That component got fried. Bleah. And Paul needs to figure out what to do. Definitely a regrouping going on there. Does he try to find another job within the company? Branch out? Find the color of his parachute and start another career?

The good news is that, when stuff like this happens, I feel like I've got the best computer guru in the world on my side. He doesn't gripe at me for how dusty my computer is inside. He doesn't freak because I don't back up my data like I'm supposed to. He's there with his can of air and his pocket protector and tool kit, pointing out the problem areas and suggesting cool and spiffy new programs that will make things better once we get this all back together. We've had so many "glitches" before and they always turn out okay. Different than we had planned, but just fine.

We're still in the repair phase, identifying lost data, and looking into spiffy new programs. I'll let you know when it's time to reboot.