Cry Me a Pity Party

And I am, so sue me.

In two weeks I will join the ranks of unemployment. While not the worst thing in the world....I am cancer free, healthy, have a wonderful family, and a four-year old who cannot give his mom too many kisses. Somehow, even in the midst of all this wonderfulness, I feel like I've totally lost something so important to my self-worth.

I worked my way through six years at VCU....six tough years....my parents thought I would never graduate.  I finally walked into the Richmond Coliseum, along with about 3,000 others that hot May day in 1994, to stand and be recognized for receiving my Masters Degree in Teaching.  Quite frankly, I could not have been prouder. College graduates take that expensive piece of paper for granted.  I hear so frequently about students not wanting to attend their college graduation. Do it...if not for yourself, at least for your parents who worked their butts off to get you there.  If I have to drag Matthew by his cute little ears kicking and screaming, he will conform to making me happy!

It's been a roller coaster weekend for us.  Cleaning, and a ton of cooking were on the agenda.  My Kroger visit this week entailed a purchase for Matthew of diving rockets.  One was super cool and looked like a shark.  Needless to say, while at the Goochland Y on Saturday afternoon, Matthew had to take a "potty" break.  We came back poolside to find the shark had taken a nose dive into someone else's hands.  Poor Matthew went around to every kid in the pool, and asked if they had seen his shark. He was distraught, and even dragged me back into the bathroom to see if he had left it there (pool bathrooms are GROSS!).  I think he was more disappointed in humanity than I was.  We walked in the door to the house, and John asked him what was wrong, and the onslaught of sobbing began.  This entailed uncontrollable sobs....the kind that make you gulp and you just can't catch your breath.  Poor thing.  Guess what dad went and got for him at lunch today?

Sunday was bathroom cleaning day . When you have three full bathrooms to clean, well, just yuck.  We are early risers on the weekend.  We had a horrible night on Saturday night anyway, Matthew woke up crying at 11:30 because of a monster movie he had watched (insert smack Dad here).  I took him down to the spare bedroom, and set up a "camp" there.  I layered some quilts and put his sleeping bag on top of it. We slept soundly without snoring that night.  I took time out for myself this weekend with two 9 1/2 mile runs, a second visit to the pool on Sunday and a little cooking....my zucchini casserole and the skinny sloppy joes recipe.  Quite frankly, this whole layoff thing has me pretty excited about trying out some new recipes. Something about cooking I find soothing and cathartic.

I am looking forward to attending a Job Assistance Ministry program the week after the layoff.  I've heard good things, and am glad to see a church want to help those in need in the community.  Of course, my coworker and I are hitting Apple Spice Junction after honing our job seeking skills!   I am also taking Matthew out of pre-school two days a week. When will I ever get this opportunity to spend quality time with him again?  A curse or a blessing, I'm not sure where this all stands.

Continued prayers for our family and for others who are suffering from this economic crisis would be appreciated.