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Facing Changes

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Loni Townsend

I mentioned my husband got bad news at work last week. Well, come next month, he’s going to be a stay-at-home dad, at least for a while. His biggest concern was the children. He doesn’t want them to face hardship.

MudI reminded him they don’t cost that much. They have more toys than they can play with, and when they do play, they prefer the mud out back. They have more clothes than they can wear, and when we do buy clothes, it’s at the Other Mother’s sale where we spend a whole $2 to get a garbage bag full. Their biggest expense is daycare, and that’s going to be a non-issue with daddy at home.

Still he worries.

He worries not only for us, but also for the group he’s leaving behind. We first met at work. We were in the same call-center training class 10 years ago. He became part of the IT Staff as a Systems Administrator, a position open for 24 hours with 65 applications and only one person (him) chosen for the job. That company got bought out by another, and after the merge, the new world-wide company didn’t quite know how to classify my husband’s job. It hadn’t had a revolving-door call center where employees shared computers and needed to be able to move seats on the fly. But he kept the center running smoothly, despite permission changes and corporate bureaucracy. After several reclassifications, they placed him in a group with other misfits called Mobile Services. (He’s a Sys Admin for a call-center, not really Mobile Services…)

This month, they chopped that group.

Once my husband heard the news, he did some chopping of his own. He went from this:

Hair

To this:

Short Hair

He pranked a few people, tucking his detached ponytail beneath a beanie, commenting about the stress, and then yanking out his hair. Many people stared at him in shock. But even to the end, he’s making sure the call-center supervisors, agents, and trainers are taken care of. They’ll probably struggle, but they’ll survive and adapt.

Change can be good. Let’s just hope it turns out that way for us.

Have you faced any life changes lately? How do you handle change?

20 thoughts on “Facing Changes”

  1. Christy says:
    July 22, 2015 at 8:22 AM

    Love the haircut! He’s such a prankster! I’m sure something super-amazing will present itself shortly.

    Reply
  2. Beth says:
    July 22, 2015 at 8:31 AM

    I’m laughing at your hubby’s prank! But I’m SO SORRY <3 you have a great attitude though. My fam went through this too about 3 years ago. I think I mentioned this at some point but 3 yrs ago this Sept my dad was fired from his job of 30+ years.. it shocked all of us. He was a service manager for a car dealership and his dad had worked there too years ago. Anyway, the owner's nephew took over the biz and wanted a fresh start. The SAME DAY Dad was fired he got a call saying he needed a kidney biopsy. A week later he was diagnosed with amyloidosis…a very rare blood cancer. It all worked out in the end, and his treatments worked thank God. But then my cat died 🙁 and then we got a call from the mortgage company that since my parents fell behind on payments it was time to get out. Talk about horrible change ALL AT ONCE pretty much. That's when I almost got my ulcer. Anyway we were very blessed and the bank agreed to work something out with my brother's income (this was after 3 months of having the house on the market) so yes I know all about changes but it sounds like you guys have great spending habits! There are so many ways to cut corners, and it's not hard at all! Hope things get better fast <3 lots of hugs!

    Reply
  3. Sarah Foster says:
    July 22, 2015 at 9:57 AM

    It seems like you both have a great attitude (that hair prank was too much!) so I think it will all work out in the end. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Chrys Fey says:
    July 22, 2015 at 10:01 AM

    It’s natural for a dad to worry. I like how positive you’re being. And oh my gosh! He has longer hair than I do. And I’m trying to grow mine for one last donation to Locks of Love.

    Haha! That prank would’ve been hilarious to see. 😛

    Reply
  5. Melissa Maygrove says:
    July 22, 2015 at 10:48 AM

    I’m sorry. I know that HAS to be stressful. But sometimes things you think are bad can turn out to be blessings in disguise. Don’t pass judgement on this one yet.

    Love the haircut. And the prank! 😀

    Reply
  6. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    July 22, 2015 at 11:03 AM

    In a few words, that sucks. Moved him around and then cut him. Pray something better and more stable comes along.
    And wow that was a lot of hair!

    Reply
  7. Mary Pax says:
    July 22, 2015 at 12:42 PM

    I went through that stress in 2014. My husband was laid off. We were down to our last dollars when he got another job (less than 1/2 of his old salary). Try to stay positive and believe it’ll all work out. Anyway, I thought 2014 sucked. Then came this year, which has been filled with loss and sorrow. I don’t think I’ve ever cried as much as I have this year. We come out on the other side eventually. Hugs to you all, and I’m always glad to chat if you need it.

    Reply
  8. Mason T. Matchak says:
    July 22, 2015 at 11:06 PM

    Change is rough; I know this after the cross-country move I made earlier this year. But it can bring about opportunities that never would have come up without that change. For example, I have an interview tomorrow for a job where I could actually put my writing skills to use, which never would have happened if I hadn’t left Albuquerque. I’m sure that times are going to be rough for you and your family for a while, maybe for a long time. But I truly, truly hope that this will lead to a better life for you all, something you never could have expected.

    Also: as a man who once had waist-length hair and chopped it all off much like your husband did, I can sympathize. O_o

    Reply
  9. Arlee Bird says:
    July 23, 2015 at 5:43 AM

    I’ve been hearing a lot about such job changes lately. Mine made me decide to go into retirement since I’m old enough. I’ve had plenty of change in my life and when it comes I try to keep looking forward with as much optimism as I can muster.

    Good luck to your family.

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote

    Reply
  10. Doreen McGettigan says:
    July 23, 2015 at 11:30 AM

    Wow those are two serious changes! I am so sorry that your husbands job was cut but I honestly believe things like that happen to make room for something bigger in our our lives.
    I am out of my day job because of an injury. It is awful not having the income but I am writing like crazy. I’m counting on the something bigger for both of us!

    Reply
  11. Sarah says:
    July 23, 2015 at 1:23 PM

    Have I faced any changes? Ha! Yes. And how have I handled them? Badly. However, hubby seems to have the right idea. Prank people. Laughter is good. And I agree — one of the biggest expenses for kids is childcare. I hope he likes being at home with them (for a bit) and they’ll love it. 🙂 Hope things settle for everyone there. Big changes. Hugs to you, lady.

    Reply
  12. dolorah says:
    July 23, 2015 at 2:18 PM

    Not the hair!!

    Perhaps not paying day care will mitigate the lack of second income. Sometimes day care costs more than the income from working. Stay at home dad’s are cool. Think of all the dinners he can now learn to cook 🙂

    Reply
  13. Jeri says:
    July 23, 2015 at 10:42 PM

    The thing I’ve found about huge life changes is that in the end, things usually turn out better than before. Silver linings and all that jazz 😉

    Reply
  14. M.J. Fifield says:
    July 24, 2015 at 1:48 AM

    Laughing at your husband’s prank. Hilarious. So sorry to hear that his job was cut, though. Hope an exciting new opportunity comes along soon.

    I don’t deal with change well. At all.

    Reply
  15. Christine Rains says:
    July 24, 2015 at 7:50 AM

    My hubby worries like that too. He doesn’t deal with change that well, but I’m good at adapting. Good luck!

    Reply
  16. Cheryl says:
    July 26, 2015 at 10:18 AM

    Ah, sorry to hear the news. And ack!!! All that beautiful hair.
    You have an amazingly bright perspective and yes, hoping that the elimination of the day care and perhaps other currently uncounted things will soften the blow.
    One thing’s for sure: change == opportunity
    Here’s hoping something delightful comes out of this.
    Best wishes to you & family.

    Reply
  17. Milo James Fowler says:
    July 27, 2015 at 7:26 AM

    Great sense of humor — that will get him (and his beloved family) through the worst of times. Stay strong. Sell a ton of books.

    Reply
  18. cleemckenzie says:
    July 27, 2015 at 8:22 AM

    We had the same kind of job loss experience, and had to do a lot of cutting! (pun intended). Looking back on those times, I find that we really had a wonderful experience together as a family–all watching our expenses and working it out together. Hope things turn around for you on the job scene soon.

    Reply
  19. Liz Blocker (@lizblocker) says:
    July 29, 2015 at 6:11 AM

    Ugh, I’m so sorry, Loni! Lay-offs SUCK. They have nothing to do with performance or skill or anything, and it’s so frustrating when you work so hard and so well only to be let go. BUT I love your attitudes and his prank, and hopefully this will allow him to find something even better – whether that’s being a full-time dad, or another job. I’ll be thinking of you guys! And I love your approach to kid costs 🙂 We’ll be doing the same soon!

    Reply
  20. C.G.Coppola says:
    August 5, 2015 at 5:52 AM

    So… didn’t even know this post was here. Either I thought I read it or… I don’t know.

    But I’ve arrived!

    Change is scary – I should know, I’m going through a lot of it. But I think the thing you need to take away from change is what can you get out of it? What are the positives? No one likes change – it’s disrupting your comfort. But I am a firm believer of things happening for a reason. A big reason. And you may not see it now, but it’s there.

    Also – LOVE the pony tail prank. I’d probably gasp and then laugh. Your hubby sounds like a lot of fun 🙂 🙂

    Reply

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