Thread: I just don't know.

It has been four years to the day since my husband lost his job. Since then he has had six jobs and more lay offs than can be counted on both of my hands. We are barely hanging on. I cried when he lost the first job. There have been no tears since then. The constant struggle and fear have become the new normal. We exist a day at a time.

This weekend I received a letter from our family dentist. He is closing his practice. So many people have lost their jobs and dental insurance that he cannot continue to practice because he has no patients. The news saddened me more than our own precarious situation has. If someone with his education and skills can’t make it what will happen to the rest of us?

I just don’t know.

I read this after you posted it and I've been thinking about it a lot. The way things are these days, it's very often a case of "there but for the grace of god..." We've been fortunate so far, but we know people who haven't been. Two of our friends have their homes up for sale in an effort to avoid foreclosure. It's heartbreaking to see people go through it -- and it seems like it can happen to anybody. I'm sorry you're going through this -- I sincerely hope your situation improves soon. Take care.

I am so sorry. It is hard to tell where the fierce weather will hit and I know anyone could find themselves on that storm tossed boat. I too hope things improve for you and they, and quickly!

I am so sorry you are going through this tough time. So many people are in the exact same situation as you are. You and your husband are not alone. People get to the point where they ask themselves what to pay. Do they pay their mortgage, the heat/electric bill, the car note, insurance, food... the list goes on and on.

I talk to people in your situation all the time, every day. The biggest thing I hear is, "I have to rob Peter to pay Paul."

All you can do is just keep your head up, and keep plugging away like you have been, one day at a time. It's awful how long this bad economy has been going on. I talk to lawyers, doctors, judges, teachers, police officers, engineers, and well... again... the list goes on. So many of them lose their jobs, deal with furlough days, and just can't make ends meet anymore. It's definitely stressful, and makes it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Keep your chin up, and I hope a steady job finds your husband soon!

Thank you everyone for your kind words and sympathy. This past Sunday there were so few jobs in the employment section of the newspaper that they doubled the size of the print in order to fill up the page. It was amusing and sad at the same time.

The bright spot is that I qualified for financial aid for college and start in January. We hope that the addition of new skills to my resume will open some doors. It helps to be doing something towards aleviating the situation even if there is no immediate pay off.

Hopefully we will reach the bottom of this economic turndown soon and things will start looking up for all of us.

We went through this recently and are pulling through at long last. How we managed to keep a roof over our heads and food in the bellies of ourselves and our many furry dependents I don't really know. We scrambled and hustled and did what we had to do.
I wish you luck.