Having a Bad Day?

After seven years, I lost my job.

Yes, I became another one of the casualities of this economic war.

It's a rough time out there right now and no one is immune.

I always wondered how I'd react if I was ever let go. I've never in my life been fired from a job so this was pretty interesting. I'd always imagined that I'd get emotional, maybe knock a few things off a desk or two and storm out on my own accord.

But...it didn't happen that way. I was calm, cool, collected. I was assured that it wasn't performance based, but that the company had to make cutbacks and that my position was being eliminated. Did it suck any less? No. But I decided that I was going to leave with my head held high. I was an awesome, loyal employee for seven years and I wasn't about to throw everything I'd worked so hard for out the window by reacting unprofessionally.

I'm hard on myself more than anyone else will ever be. So of course, I ran the gammet of emotions from sadness and hurt to dissapointment and hate. I felt like a failure as a parent; as a mother. But in the end, I felt this overwhelming sense of relief. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I felt like this huge weight was pulled off my shoulders. And believe it or not...I became excited; excited about the new chapter that God had waiting for me.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a pretty spiritual person. If it wasn't for my faith, I'm not sure where I'd be. I live my life with the utmost gratitude and wake up each day with a prosperous mind. I know as I continue on through my journey in life, I will never quite understand everything that will happen along the way, but I trust God.

It's times like these, when your foundation is shaken, that your faith is truly tested. It's so important to keep things in perspective. I've had better days but I look at my short stint in the unemployment field as a little "hiccup" in life; it's an inconvenience.... I'll recover.

And that is exactly what it is: inconvenient.

You know what I define as "having a bad day"?

- When your life is turned upside down after you find that your 11 year old daughter has brain cancer, like my close friends Anthony and Sue

- When a F-16 yet plows into your house and kills your wife, your two babies and mother-in-law while you are at work, like the man in San Diego had happen to him

- When you discover that your grown daughter murdered your 3 year-old grandchild, as in the case with Caylee Anthony in Florida

Those are people with BAD days. I pray for them daily while acknowledging the blessings that I have in my life. I don't have bad days, only inconvenient ones. I know that I can't put back together what God has taken apart..or put a question mark where He has left a period. I just continue to breathe and keep moving forward.

Tomorrow the sun will still rise,

and I will wake up

knowing

that

living

is the ultimate gift.