Welcome to 2011!

Hello New Year!  So good to see you!

Not that 2010 was all bad, but it was definitely over shadowed by two largely unpleasant events:

• The February passing of my mother-in-law at the tender age of 69.
• Being unemployed for about six months, from April to October.

Now every time we see pictures or video of Mom, it reminds us of her absense.  It reminds us how wonderful a person she was, despite her flaws (like everyone has).  Her faith and her love are now more recongnizable than ever.  Old pictures of a beautiful young bride, new pictures of a proud grandma with the current latest grandbaby held gently, but confidently in her arms.  A husband bereft of his love in life, a family saddened with her loss, yet happy for her release from the recent past and the downward slide of mortality.  She is loved and missed.

A month after the funeral for Mom, I and my entire group at work received word we would be layed off and that we had a couple of weeks left.  They could have been a lot worse about it.  At least we got to finish our week out and have a final party, got a final paycheck and remained employees for another two weeks in which we could finish using our Flex Spending Plan money, go to the doctor/dentist/whatever and turn in any paper work we needed to be ready for being unemployed.

I really liked receiving severance and PTO paid out.  We were able to cut back and use that and finally some Unemployment Insurance to make it through without feeling desperate.  Having a decent savings on hand was also very beneficial. 

All the same, six months without employment was definitely not the best of times and something I hope to not repeat, ever.

And that is just our family!  We had so many friends and neighbors that went through similar issues.  A good friend went through almost the exact same thing, losing a mother-in-law and then losing a job.  Other friends went through dealing with cancer in loved ones and many other strains this year.

What helps me look back on the year with some optimism:
We learned some new things about Mom and many recently degraded attitudes were changed as pressures were relieved and eyes opened.  It was great to see what came out of some of the family as we pulled together in remembering and honoring her.

This was the first summer I've had off in about twenty years.  While I would love to have done it my way and spent the time traveling and visiting places and people, it just didn't happen that way.  Instead we filled the time between job hunting with other activities. 

• There was lots of Dad and kids playing video games together.
• Mom and Dad walking the kids to and from school while it was in.
• A very low budget vacation trip to Lagoon, thanks to a friend who had some awesome discount tickets that enabled us to spend the day for just over the cost of one standard pass.
• A camping trip with family.
• Family games.
• Reading.
• Weekly temple attendance using some of the names Mom had prepared before she passed.  A definite highlight on this one!
• Gathering all my brothers together for the first time in about five years.
• And any number of other good events for friends and family, like new babies, new marriages, momentous birthdays and so forth.

And then there was the day when we finally accepted an offer and began a new job.  I won't go into the details, but what a feeling when that day came.

It is amazing what a relief it is to have a paycheck coming in regulary again and to know you can go to the store without worring about every little penny and how it will affect you and how long you'll have to worry about being on a shoe string budget.

So, while it wasn't all bad in 2010, it is a relief to have it behind us and be able to look forward in 2011.

Thank you to all who helped us through and supported and loved us during the hard times of 2010, who contributed to and provided the good times. 

We appreciate your kindness and caring and wish you the best in 2011 and onward!

Happy New Year!!!