Saturday, March 31, 2012
Employed Husband
Thank God, Praise the Lord!! Billy was offered a job with the DoD on March 9th!! We patiently waited and waited and waited for everything to be complete and everything to line up. Billy got the call he had been waiting for yesterday! All of his paperwork, security clearance and background check cleared and he can officially start work. He goes to orientation next week and starts working immediately after that. *HUGE sigh of relief* I don't know how people make it through months and months and months of unemployment. 3 months felt like we were about to die. My heart goes out to the people who have been impacted by the economy so severely that they DREAM of finding work within 3 months. We're blessed. We really are.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
No Longer a "Military Wife"
Why hello there blog. Nice to see you again. Boy, oh boy, have things changed lately..... Perhaps I'll fill you in just a little bit.
Remember that "Air Force Wife" lifestyle I was living? Well, that part of our lives is over. It was something I never thought we'd ever be a part of (the military community, I mean), but was really excited about when Billy chose to enlist. We had a lovely little adventure for a few years and got to meet some really great people that we never would have come in contact with if it wasn't for the military. On the flip side, we met some really not-so-great people that we never would have come in contact with if it wasn't for the military. We'll skip that latter part though. But after 6-years of service to his country, Billy decided it wasn't what he wanted to do for the rest of his life and chose to honorably separate from the military. That's when things got interesting......
So back in November, he had saved up enough vacation days that he was able to go on "terminal leave". Meaning the military still 'owned' him until January 3rd, still payed him, but he was on 'vacation'. During that time, he found a job with a local heating and air place and began working for them.
January 3rd came and went and we said "goodbye" to the military. On January 6th, Billy's job that he had been working at since November said "goodbye" to him as well. With the weather being so nice, they just didn't have enough work to sustain him as a full-time employer. Since he was the new guy, he got the boot. They didn't fire him though. They just said, "We'll call you if we need you". Weeks went by and they never called. Needless to say, providing for a family of 5 on my custodian income alone was not cutting it (did I mention that I've been working as a custodian for the school district since October?). He applied everywhere. At least 10 applications a week with anyone that would let him in the door. No one could/would hire him. So unemployment came into the picture. However, they make you wait a certain amount of time before they considered you "unemployed" when you've only been temporarily laid off (which is what Billy was considered). So that was quite the headache.
So from January 6th through February 20th, we had..... nothing. My paycheck was enough to cover the mortgage and one car payment, but that was it. We stupidly had nothing in savings. Thankfully, our tax refund came and we paid off all of our credit debts and had enough left over to stock up on necessities for the month. Yes, there were lots of people we could have called to ask for help, but our pride and ego were already bruised enough, so we decided to just tough it out and make it on our own. Not only because of our pride, but for our own self-esteem. To prove to ourselves that we could do it without help from anyone else.
It was really difficult and the stress got the better of me from time to time. Thank God my husband is such a patient man that knows how to calm my every fear. He'd always hug me when I was at my worst and whisper in my ear that everything was going to be okay. And no truer words have ever been spoken, because here we are. We're doing okay. We just stayed strong in our faith and focused on the good rather than the bad.
On February 21st, unemployment kicked in and saved the day. :) We were back on track and keeping our heads above water. That's all anyone can really ask for, right? It may not be the most perfect situation in the world, but things could certainly be worse. And for now, taking joy in the fact that it's not as bad as it could be is far more productive than wallowing in the fact that it's not what we want it to be.
Goodbye, "Military Wife". It was fun while it lasted.
Remember that "Air Force Wife" lifestyle I was living? Well, that part of our lives is over. It was something I never thought we'd ever be a part of (the military community, I mean), but was really excited about when Billy chose to enlist. We had a lovely little adventure for a few years and got to meet some really great people that we never would have come in contact with if it wasn't for the military. On the flip side, we met some really not-so-great people that we never would have come in contact with if it wasn't for the military. We'll skip that latter part though. But after 6-years of service to his country, Billy decided it wasn't what he wanted to do for the rest of his life and chose to honorably separate from the military. That's when things got interesting......
So back in November, he had saved up enough vacation days that he was able to go on "terminal leave". Meaning the military still 'owned' him until January 3rd, still payed him, but he was on 'vacation'. During that time, he found a job with a local heating and air place and began working for them.
January 3rd came and went and we said "goodbye" to the military. On January 6th, Billy's job that he had been working at since November said "goodbye" to him as well. With the weather being so nice, they just didn't have enough work to sustain him as a full-time employer. Since he was the new guy, he got the boot. They didn't fire him though. They just said, "We'll call you if we need you". Weeks went by and they never called. Needless to say, providing for a family of 5 on my custodian income alone was not cutting it (did I mention that I've been working as a custodian for the school district since October?). He applied everywhere. At least 10 applications a week with anyone that would let him in the door. No one could/would hire him. So unemployment came into the picture. However, they make you wait a certain amount of time before they considered you "unemployed" when you've only been temporarily laid off (which is what Billy was considered). So that was quite the headache.
So from January 6th through February 20th, we had..... nothing. My paycheck was enough to cover the mortgage and one car payment, but that was it. We stupidly had nothing in savings. Thankfully, our tax refund came and we paid off all of our credit debts and had enough left over to stock up on necessities for the month. Yes, there were lots of people we could have called to ask for help, but our pride and ego were already bruised enough, so we decided to just tough it out and make it on our own. Not only because of our pride, but for our own self-esteem. To prove to ourselves that we could do it without help from anyone else.
It was really difficult and the stress got the better of me from time to time. Thank God my husband is such a patient man that knows how to calm my every fear. He'd always hug me when I was at my worst and whisper in my ear that everything was going to be okay. And no truer words have ever been spoken, because here we are. We're doing okay. We just stayed strong in our faith and focused on the good rather than the bad.
On February 21st, unemployment kicked in and saved the day. :) We were back on track and keeping our heads above water. That's all anyone can really ask for, right? It may not be the most perfect situation in the world, but things could certainly be worse. And for now, taking joy in the fact that it's not as bad as it could be is far more productive than wallowing in the fact that it's not what we want it to be.
Goodbye, "Military Wife". It was fun while it lasted.
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