Training wheels

My husband is brilliant. He is also kind and considerate. And for the past 2 and a half years held a dream job. He had a wonderful boss. His skills were recognised and rewarded. The location was convenient and the hours were flexible. The pay was good too and afforded us many luxuries like me being able to stay at home with the kidlets. But on Thursday, Motorola Canada announced that it will be closing the software centre where my husband works effective in September. Two hundred and fifty people, including my husband, will be laid off. Ouch.

We so didn't see that coming. I've been doing corporate research for a large telco for 8 years and I have seen probably a dozen significant shake-ups and at least half a dozen serious waves of downsizing worrying about whether I would be tapped on the shoulder. So when my husband came home with the news two weeks ago that Motorola was looking to cut 3500 positions globally, I told him not to worry. His division didn't know what that would mean for them yet but I figured they couldn't get rid of the whole department because of project commitments to large customers and so even if his group was touched, it wouldn't be everybody and he'd be okay because he is a top performer.

And so I didn't worry. But when he called me from work on Thursday with the news that all of Montreal would be winding down...I was completely gobsmacked. And worried. And scared. I even let myself cry a little (okay, a lot). Afterall, he's the sole bread-winner right now and we have a growing family to care for. Thankfully were not indebted but we've been spending a lot of money on yard improvements (deck, patio furniture, fence, shed, swingset,...) and whatever cushion we had managed to save is freshly spent. All of it.

I dwelled on it for a couple of days but am now past the denial, anger and fear and am in complete acceptance. And I have a feeling that something really good is going to come out of this. Really big. Luckily, my husband and I were cut from the same cloth and he is already prepared to move on and is getting excited at the thought that maybe Motorola was a stepping stone to something bigger and better and that this is an opportunity to refocus and to go after what he really wants, a step closer to meeting his full potential.

We came to this realisation the very same night he came home with the news. We had decided to skip the bedtime routine and just bring both kids in bed with us for extra closeness and comfort and because really, we're all in this together. The kids were both snoring away while we lay in the dark, thinking about the next step, possibilies, leads, and worst-case scenarios. We held hands and both felt like the training wheels had just come off. This is the first major storm since we were married, homeowners and parents. It's like a test and whatever it takes, we're going to ace it!

So bye, bye training wheels. We don't need you anymore. It's going to be okay ;0)

Cheers!

PS - Just in case anyone out there knows of an opportunity for my husband, he's been a senior software designer for Motorola in their public safety division (mostly working on dispatch software for 911 service in major US cities) for the past few years and has been working with tandem machines and COBOL for the past 10 years. He's brilliant. And available. His dream would be to be able to continue to work on the tools he's been developing for Motorola at either HP or Carr Scott. That's his preference and where he'll be focusing his energy first. But if anyone knows of any opportunities in the field...well, we'd be grateful for your help ;0)

PPS - Photos courtesy of my little Jujube who just got his first tricycle, a supercute radio-flyer with a nice long handle at the back so we can push him until he figures out what the deal with the pedals is. Right now, he especially loves 'fixing' it with his wrench. Too cute! And of course our little Lolo who just keeps getting bigger and bigger!

PPPS - I've still got knitting on the brain. But since I got my invite to beta-test Ravelry, I've been surfing rather than knitting. Seriously, Ravelry rocks! And it will be a revolution in the online knitting community once it goes live. I'm completely amazed and excited.