There but for a pink slip, go I

My oldest friend was laid off, RIF’d, let go, you-supply-the-euphemism, last week.

We work for the same company.

My job is safe. (for now)

Her losing her job hit me like a sucker punch. I’ve told people about it almost as if it had happened to me. Maybe  because it’s a deep fear. As a single parent, my income is the only income. Without my job, we just don’t exist.

I look at her situation, and I look at mine. I try to find ways in which we are different, more so than the ways we might be the same.

Ironically, my biggest monthly expense is day care. Which I pay because I work. If I weren’t working, I wouldn’t be making the money to pay for the day care I would no doubt need to spend time looking for a job. What a vicious circle. B is 3 – unless we move, I foresee 3 more years of full-time day care for her, which runs me quite a pretty sum.

I am very thankful for my job – the salary which pays our bills, and the flexibility that allows me to stay sane while navigating the all-consuming waters that solo parenting can be. I am really extremely fortunate.