It is with a heavy heart that I post today. I think we all know the economy is in trouble, and it appears no one is immune to it; in one way or another, what is going on these days affects all of us.
Thursday, my company laid off not quite 15% of its workforce -- 25 people. One day, we had 175 employees, and the next day 150. I am surprised and scared and sad. Most of these people weren't lazy workers (I'll admit, some were!), but most of them were good, dependable workers. I honestly can't tell what the criteria were to select the 25 people that went, since it really was a varied group.
But one commonality among them all: they were my friends. I knew about their lives. One was a single mom. Another, a BYU buddy of mine. Another, a father of four with a wife who stays at home. Another, an older gentleman who'd been at the company for years and years and years.
When I told Shane, with my face white as snow, he said he wasn't surprised. I work for an engineering firm and the construction industry is really hurting.
The next day, Friday, Boeing announced layoffs: 4,500 people sometime next month will get 60-day notices. Boeing said it would primarily be administrative and clerical workers, those not directly related to airplane production. But the fact of the matter is, whether my husband loses his job or not, those 4,500 people are people. Someone will lose his job. Someone with a family and bills and worries.
It's all just so sad. With the collapse of WaMu, thousands of people around here lost their jobs. Relocation is almost impossible, since the housing market is so bad. I'd hate to be a breadwinner, or anyone!, looking for a job or trying to sell a house right now.
So. This is where I start to feel better. As I was putting Wesley to bed the other night, he fell asleep in my arms. I looked at his sweet little face, and I realized it's not about money or jobs or power or security. It's about each other. Being there for each other. Having those relationships and realizing we'll be OK, since we have each other. We might lose a lot of money or have to make drastic life changes or feel completely alone and scared for awhile, but we'll be OK. I know we will.
After Boeing announced their layoffs, I was close to a nervous breakdown but Shane comforted me. His confidence was reassuring. What a good guy.
Short related tangent: A couple of years ago, before we bought our condo, I had this friend. He was a moron. He was totally into real estate and was very very risky in his investments -- but, 5 years ago, that was the thing to do. Real estate had never depreciated, ever. He owned several properties and rented them all out and paid his bills that way (he hardly ever went to work at this actual job). He never invested in his 401(k) since he "made more money investing in real estate." He got interest-only mortgages, believing that paying the principal was unnecessary since appreciation would more than cover it when he sold. This guy was nuts. And he had me completely convinced he was right and I needed to make the same choices. It all sounded so glamorous and surefire and brilliant. A small loan for a huge house? Double-digit appreciation? Living way beyond my means, without paying for it really? And on and on.
I tried to persuade Shane to jump on the risky real estate bandwagon, and his response was firm: No Way. That made me mad. Then he called me on it: "you'd trust this friend of yours more than you'd trust your own husband?" OK fine Shane, you win. We'll do it your way.
And how do I feel now? DANG GLAD Shane isn't a moron. He is solid when it comes to this kind of stuff. I am grateful for him.
There's a lot of uncertainty out there. But this we can be certain of: we have each other. Relationships matter more. Take care of each other. It doesn't have to be scary. Be prudent with what you have and live within your means, be good to those who need you (and you need), and realize this is all part of the plan of life. We will learn from this. And we will come out stronger.
I guess this is where I bear my testimony. I know our God, our Heavenly Father, knows us personally and knows our worries and needs and deepest insecurities. I don't know how this will fix itself, but I do know that we can have happiness without material things, and we can feel peace if we ask for it. I've been praying for my friends. I've been praying for the leaders of this country. I've been praying for my own sanity. Sometimes, all we have is hope. But with Heavenly Father on our side, I know that is enough.
7 comments:
Amen!
Yep, if I had to choose between economic insecurity and relationship insecurity I'd choose the former in a heartbeat. But that's all academic since we really don't get to choose such things.
I know what you mean about actual people losing jobs. I almost hate to listen to the news anymore because of all of the lay-offs and going out of business that is happening. I feel like we live in an inflated economy as it is. It is just like before the great depression, everybody was living on credit and really couldn't afford what they had. The same thing is happening, foreclosures are happening all over the place, and people are finally figuring out they can't afford stuff. So they stop spending money they don't have, and companies have to downsize. Wouldn't the world just be a better place if we all could get a clue and only spend money we have?
There have been several instances where Melani and I were almost persuaded to buy something we couldn't afford or do something that really wasn't within our means, but we decided no, we don't really need this. Afterwards we have always been glad we decided to follow the principles given to us by Heavenly Father and the prophets- live within your means!
That was a really nice post Angela. Parts of it really hit home. I also have a husband who is very sound and firm in our investments. Sure we may not have; lets just say a "new car!" right now but I know in the long run he is right in his convictions. And it all does come down to not being materialistic and living within your means and being happy with what you do have.
Jason would recommend reading "the Millionaire Next Door."
I think with this economy no one is "safe". When Wamu closed all those people who invested in 401's and retirement lost it all so it's not the safest thing. I've lost half of my small retirement in the market. But like you say, we have a Heavenly Father who is watching us. We can still lose our jobs (as I know) but he will help us and guide us. The blessing from the loss of job was that the Mr took his retirement in a lump sum and put it in a safe place. We aren't making tons of money with it but we didn't loose any of it in the last 4 months. WAMU is getting him to retirement age so we have been blessed. When we were younger we had closed on our first house, I was expecting our 3rd and the Mr got laid off that afternoon. Food storage helped us along with prayers and fasting. I pray for my children and all those around me. If we all keep praying I know that things will work out, I also know that people will be laid off but in the end He will take care of us and help us thru the trial and we will learn what we need to, if we stay close. Great post. I'm sorry to hear about your friends.
These days we are seeing the wisdom of self reliance. The more we can do for ourselves, the more we feel secure. Who stored food? Who saved rather than spent? Who can we now help because we listened to and heeded the prophets?
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