Martina and the No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Day

A short post again as today was an exhausting day. Shortly after getting to work, we received an announcement that there were significant cuts being made - 150 people let go, more info to come tomorrow. What a heavy, sad way to begin the day. It didn't take long past "We are saddened to announce...", before I started to feel it in my gut.

Luckily for me, I am still employed, but a lot of people who have become friends as we've worked together for years are not. Layoffs weren't unexpected. You don't need an economics degree to know my company isn't performing well, but I figured they would come (like last year) when we all returned from our Christmas holidays. A coworker mentioned that it seemd particularly cruel, so close before Christmas, but I suppose in a way it is better now than after people had overspent, maxing their credit cards buying gifts for the kids.

It's not the first reorg I've been through, but it's never easy. There's the initial fear that you'll get the summons, the sigh of relief when you don't, the realization that other people weren't as lucky, the guilt, and the scrambling to see if the ones you are close to are okay. Even when one understands the fiscal reasoning behind the cuts, the human impact is hard to ignore. It is on days like these that I am so thankful that I work from a home office and don't have to be in the middle of all that turmoil. Even at a distance, there came a point a little before noon, where I just couldn't take any more emails, ims or calls ranging from attempts to fish for gossip to lovely, concerned coworkers, wanting to make sure I was okay (there was a lot of reaching out to make sure people were "safe" today) and had to just step away for a bit.

By the end of the work day, the headache I've been nursing since yesterday started feeling like it was moving into sit-in-the-dark migraine territory. And now I just feel tired and sad. The only thing that has perked me up all evening has been that signs point to possible snow next weekend. So, I'll end this post on the cheerier note that it made me feel just a little excited. What is it about snow that makes even the headachey and tired feel that sense of snow day anticipation that goes back to childhood? I don't know, but it's a bit of happy magic I'll gladly accept after a day like today.

Below is a picture of Lily, Gizmo and Teddy last winter, when Gizzy and Teddy were puppies enjoying their first romp in the snow.