A bountiful bouquet of roses on my kitchen table greeted me this morning, a gift from last night's dinner guest, Kym Reinstadler. Kym is one of the many talented journalists out of work these days. She's learning some new tricks, making a promotional movie for Holland schools and working on web stites, but mostly she's enjoying a break from juggling work and family resposibilities. Now she can spend more time with her mother in Midland and her father in a nursing home there. She's been able to enjoy vacations with her daughters and will spend the month of April in Newport News, Virginia, caring for her grand children while daughter Whitney trains for a new job and Whitney's husband is away on a Navy assignment. Unemployment is ugly but if it gives us more time for what's really important -- friends and family -- maybe it is worth it. Praze unexpected blessings!
Staying optimistic during a period of unemployment is a job-seeker's greatest challenge. It's no secret that newspapers are not a growth industry, but being laid off from a job you hoped would last until retirement is rejection that can undermine your confidence. Even in times of drastic downsizing, would editors lay off their best writers? What helps me is thinking of this layoff as my first non-medical career break. I'm working as hard at enjoying this interlude as I am at finding a great new position. I know I'll always be grateful I had this extra time with my aging parents, and with my grandchildren. I would not have experienced today's delights if I still had my job. I would not have experienced this early-April 84-degree day in a cavernous Michigan newsroom. I would not have had the joy of Gabe squeezing my hand and saying, earnestly, "Grandma, I hear an owl," as we pushed Mia in the stroller to the park. He was overhearing girls playing jump rope chanting a rhyme with the refrain "Who? Who?" We had read a book on animals and the sounds they make before leaving the apartment. Wonder if God gets as tickled when grandmothers learn things as grandmothers get when they see their grandchildren making new connections. I hope to delight!
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