No, it’s not me that had the potential to be unemployed. Well, I suppose there’s always the chance I could lose my job, but people are still getting hurt, having surgery, having strokes, getting UTI’s, getting dehydrated, getting pneumonia, breaking bones, fainting, and crabbing about their pain, so I’m pretty safe for a while.
Andy had the chance to be a stay-at-home dad after the announcement yesterday that Quad/Graphics would be cutting 550 jobs, 400 of them right here at home. The cuts at Quad/Tech (where Andy works) went down today. Andy reassured me several times last night that he wasn’t concerned about his job. Still, I was a bit nervous all day, waiting for a phone call (would Andy even call if he got booted?), wondering if I would need to beg for more hours or (gasp!) get rid of my DVR and cell phone.
I called Andy’s desk at 3:30 and he wasn’t there. I didn’t wait for his voice mail, so I didn’t hear if he had changed his message to say something like “Hi, this is Andy. I used to work for Quad/Tech until the crappy economy changed everything for everyone and I had to get canned. Good luck trying to find someone else who cares!”
I then called his cell, and was relieved he didn’t answer, sloppy drunk at the bar down the road from Quad/Tech with his box of belongings on the bar stool next to him, surrounded by 25 other former Quad/Tech employees and their boxes of belongings.
He called me about 10 minutes later, from his desk, telling me he’s safe. He also let me know that all of the people I’ve met from Quad/Tech are also safe. It was a huge relief. I can stay part-time! I can keep my DVR and cell phone! Oh, and we still have our medical insurance and we can still afford our house. I suppose those are important too.
So thanks Quad! Thanks for letting my husband keep his job. And to all of those people who are sitting at home tonight, worried about what comes next, wondering how they’re going to keep their houses, I wish them luck, strength to find the silver lining, and faith to believe there’s more to come.