New Challenge

Things were a little crazy yesterday, and after many months of escaping the effects of the financial crisis, it has finally hit home. In a office wide meeting yesterday morning, my bosses (the founding partners of the firm) said that in an effort to keep from laying anyone off, they were asking everyone to drop down to a 4 day work week. So, basically, 32 hours of work a week instead of 40 hours.

Now don't get me wrong, I walked out of that meeting so very thankful for my job! I'm the most junior person on the team and would most likely be the one to go. So, I am very, very grateful that they are doing everything they can to preserve the team.

That being said though, the worry wort in me instantly begin trying to do math in my head... to no avail. No matter what I did, I could not seem to multiply 19 by 40, 32, or even 8! My dad would interject here a crack about my homeschool education, but I think anxiety had more to do with it. As soon as I got back to my desk, I started adding stuff up. 20% is a huge decrease when you live paycheck to paycheck.

But that is why this post is titled New Challenge. I know we have money left over at the end of the month. I know that I often don't have money because I saw that I was going to have some and decided to spend it on luxuries instead. I know that we make plenty of money to pay our rent, car payments, utilities, food, etc. This will probably just mean that there is less in the Holiday Gift Pool, or that we won't be getting a puppy as soon as we hoped.

But what it does mean is a new outlook on life. An outlook that minimizes the importance of "stuff" in our lives. An outlook that forces us to get more creative on everything from decorating to date nights to what we do for fun. An outlook that encourages the adventure of getting what you want and need in a way that you can afford. I'm also greatly looking forward to shifting my perspective.... shifting away from things being of primal importance in my life, and really contemplating what is really important.

So with this gigantic negative on the board this morning, I'd appreciate if you would indulge me in a few positives...

1) I am in good health!
2) Our families are in good health (well except for his mom but that's not a new thing).
3) I do still have a job that although pays less than it did two days ago, still will cover my basic expenses and probably more.
4) J and I got a DVR last weekend that is wonderful! (hey, you can indulge me one silly, trivial "thing" orriented positive. Anyway, I said I was learning to be less focused on stuff, not that I'd gotten there yet!)
5) I have wonderful friends!
6) And last but not least, i have the most wonderful husband in the world!

So, how has the economic crisis touched you and yours? And what are you doing to Thrive in the situation instead of letting it defeat you? I know we'd all love to hear the silver linings that others are finding!

Thanks for reading y'all!
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