Bad news bears

The last few weeks have been trying to say the least. I guess I'll start at the beginning.

Two weeks ago today Jackson lost his job. I was home from work that day because I had a nasty case of strep throat. I was out work for 2.5 days and even had to miss seeing Tim Tebow play in Cincinnati because I was so sick. Yep. I'm pretty certain missing Tim might have been the worst thing to happen. I'm only kidding...kind of. ;)

We've been pretty much reeling since this news hit.

We put our house on the market last week. We had been itching to get rid of it because it is a ton of work, more space than we'll ever need and expensive to maintain. It was obviously not our original plan to unload it after just one year but when life happens we have to be willing to roll with its punches. We are currently negotiating an offer on it so please pray that it works out and can be a fairly painless process.

In addition the excitement of the unemployment line and selling the house I got pulled over for speeding on Friday evening. I really didn't mean to be speeding. I was just lost in my thoughts and on a country road winding into Fishers. I was going 53 in a "35" (I still think a 35 is ludicrous, but I'm not in charge) so I got a $152 ticket and a "have a nice day" from Officer Jerkface. I think that might have really been his name. ;) While waiting for Jerkface to write my ticket, birds pooped all over and in my car. Yes, my top was down. I pretty much lost it for the first time at that point. My husband lost his job, we're selling our house ahead of schedule (I LOVE planning and I HATE compromising) and now I've gotten my first lousy speeding ticket in years. GREAT! I had about an hour long pity party that my poor Mom got to attend with me via telephone. (Sorry about that, Mom. Thanks for listening!)

The rest of last weekend was pretty uneventful. We had a great dinner with some of my former co-workers from Deloitte on Saturday night and went to church that evening, too. Sunday I went to dinner with my friends Shaya and Nicole. It was so nice to catch up with them. When we paid the waiter dropped my debit card through the holes in their outside deck and was unable to retrieve it at that time. I decided at that point that the universe was out to get me. I got my meal for free, they promised to try to retrieve the debit card and I went home. About an hour later they called and had my card. I was so happy. I got dinner for free and got my card back without the hassle of canceling it. I called it my blessing in disguise. Perhaps it was proof that God doesn't hate me? I'm not sure.

I'm sure you're all thinking, "WHAT IS THE PLAN NOW?!" The answer to that is a resounding, "we haven't a clue, not one singular clue." Jackson has applied for some jobs around here and was able to work some connections about jobs elsewhere. He has some interviews next week. We're really in a holding pattern right now. We hope the house sells but then we're homeless so even that is a double-edged sword. We hope that something falls into place soon for Jackson on the job front but we are highly doubtful that his job hunt will leave us in central Indiana which is sad. Well, kind of sad. There are certainly people and things that we'd miss. Since nothing is set in stone yet I have no feelings about anything. I've decided to try to stay as unemotional about this situation because if I stew too long I get really down and out.

What is the good news? The good news is that we even had a house to sell. Some people have nothing. The good news is that neither of us are terminally ill. We've still got our health. The good news is we had already booked a trip to Maine for Labor Day weekend so we have something to look forward to among a cloudy time in our lives. The good news is that we have each other. The good news is that we have MacKenzie and she is the best little puppy ever. The good news is that we have an amazing support team who helps hold us up when we want to give up and cry. The good news is that I bought pilates reformer packages on a groupon a few weeks ago and am obsessed with the class. (Random? Sure. I thought it was worthy of a good news shout out, though!) The GREAT news? God is still good. He is still with us. HE HAS A PLAN. Even if He is being a little hard on me and not showing me the details. The nerve. ;) I feel hopeful that things will work out because with God on our team how could things not eventually be beautiful?

Whew. That was a lot for one blog post. Hence it being about two weeks late. I sincerely hope you're all doing well. I also hope you know that I know things could be worse. I  do have an attitude of gratefulness even through this trying time. I hope that you have an attitude of gratitude, too.