We cleaned out our desks and hit the bar!

I had never been laid off from a job before. I remember sitting in our office and looking at my co-workers and saying "I don't know what to do!". Arthur, who had been laid off before simply said "It's easy, we are going to clean out our desks and go to a bar." It was only at the bar that we got to look at our packets that our company had given us. First, we were given all our vacation pay, and they also gave each of us a severance based on years worked. My boss had been incredibly kind and just said "This has nothing to do with any of your work, this is just because the economy has crashed." The worse part, is I completely understood.

Our department, though we did generate orders, did not actually price orders. In a bad economic time this would be the logical first place to cut expenses. I understood, but I was still miserable, I loved this job. My boss came over to give me a hug while I was trying to hold it together which of course meant I broke down. His son who runs the warehouse came in and gave me this huge hug and said that he would "pray for me". I knew he meant that from his heart, which of course made me break down, again. One of the inside sales guys let me know that he was sure if times got better that my company would come back to me with a job offer. The only reason 4 of us lost jobs that day was because of the awful economic times. All I knew is that for the first time in my life I was about to be on unemployment!

After a couple of beers I left to go home, when I got into my car Talk of the Nation was on and the announcer said "We want to hear from you about how this down turn in our economy is effecting your life." I swore at the radio as I snapped it off. I got home and called my support system: my sisters, my friends and waited for my husband to come home. When Steve walked in, completely worried because I had beat him home I told him the news. He responded in his usual great way, he said; "you're not completely healed from your hysterectomy and you want time to work on your screenplays. Now you can do both, and you'll get unemployment. I have the feeling that this is all going to turn out for the best." And that ladies and gentlemen is why I married Steve.