Life has been unsettled this year... so much up in the air. I am pregnant and preparing for a new baby, We are trying to buy a new house. We are having trouble selling our current house. Its been kind of stressful doing it all at the same time. Just when we were starting to think we had enough... we got a huge surprise, Mike lost his job.
Long story short, his entire company got laid off about a week before Thanksgiving (when I was about 33 weeks pregnant). We were expecting some big changes with his company, but we were literally shocked when he was let go. He has a great reputation with the company, his numbers have been great, and he has had several discussions with management about him training to move up as a manager himself. But I guess none of that matters when they left go of the entire division of his company.
We went through a roller coaster of emotions. First was shock and fear... would he lose his benefits right before the baby? Would he get any kind of severance package? What happens now? But then a few days later he got his "package" that explained everything that was going to happy.
There are a lot of great things and opportunities that can come about with this layout, but there are also plenty of really scary parts.
The good news first- Because they laid off so many people, they have to give a 60 day notice. That means he stopped working immediately after that phone call, but they company has to pay him until the end of January. For our particular circumstance, that works well because he will be home around the holidays and home more often when the baby is born. This is the perfect time for us to have Dad around more often. We also found out that because he was with the company for so long, we get to keep his health benefits until July. That takes off some of the pressure because we know the family will have insurance for a while.
The other positive is that I really feel like it will lead to a better long term position for him. Mike has been extremely loyal to his company for 8 years, and recently they were not offering any opportunities for him to grow. So this lay off will force him to step outside of his comfort zone and find a new opportunity that will be great for our future!
Bottom line, its not the worst thing in the world.
The bad news- For right now we are trying to be super positive. Things are not bad as long as he gets a new job and has something lined up to start in February. Of course there is always the chance that he won't get a job right away, and that will change everything. But for now... lets think positive... he will get a new job after the New Year and things will be great.
Then there is the car situation. We lost his company car this morning. We are officially a 1 car family from now until at least February 1. I'm a little bit nervous about this, 2 months is a long time to only have 1 car, especially with our crazy schedules. It doesn't make sense for us to buy a new car in the mean time, because almost all jobs Mike is looking at will also offer a company car. So for now we wait. We will take it one week at a time and have to be really really good at planning out our schedules in advance. Tonight is night #1, Mike is out at a holiday party with the car and Ryan and I are home hoping we have no reason to need to leave. The next few weeks before I go on maternity leave will be extra interesting. Wish us luck.
And last but not least... the new house. This new situation changes everything. Do we still buy the new house? Can we even get a mortgage on the house? What if we don't sell our current house, we definitely can't get a 2nd mortgage now? What if he finds a new job in a different location? Ugggghhhh just when I thought this decision and process was hard enough, this bomb shell has put me over the edge!! We have lots to decide and with my due date quickly approaching and our next payment towards the home right around the corner... we have to decide like right now!
In the meantime.... while we are weighing all of this out... I am trying to work as much as possible. With Mike being home, I can go into the office more and try to build up my hours before leave. The days are busy and hectic, but soon enough we will both be home and able to concentrate on the holidays and the new baby. It is very very strange going to work every day while Mike is home being a "stay at home dad"... not going to lie, I am a bit jealous!
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