Big news!

No, we're not moving back to Ohio (yet, anyway). No, we're not having a baby. And no, this isn't the post(s) about spring training that I've promised (hey, I've been swamped at work and stressing myself out about Tim's layoff).

But last night I went to Applebee's with Tim's coworkers for his going away party. Tim told me Kelly, one of his coworkers who checked in on the cats while we were on our honeymoon, had a surprise for me. I was feeling kind of down about having to go to my husband's going away party in the first place, so I wasn't very enthused. But I got to the restaurant, greeted everyone and then Tim asked if I was ready for my surprise from Kelly. I said sure. This is how I remember it:

Kelly: "Tim's not laid off."
Kristin:
Kelly: "He's keeping his job."
Kristin:
Tim: "Hon?"
Kristin: "Are you guys serious?!?!?"
Everyone: "Yes."

Apparently someone in Tim's department put in her resignation yesterday. (She got a new job in Sarasota.) So Tim gets to stay! He'll still take the pay cut the rest of the staff is taking and has mandatory furlough days to take, but that's small potatoes compared to what we were facing. I'm still in shock. After preparing for today to be his last day for two weeks, including telling everyone we knew in the hopes of someone hearing about some lead we could follow, we can now find Tim a job he's happier with - but on our terms, in our time. Not on the timeline the layoff had created. Not with the pressure of the severance package running out. Not with the desperation of taking whatever is available. Granted, he's still at the bottom based on seniority, but we have a little bit more time and cushion now.

So today is good. I don't care how much work I have to do this weekend. I don't care that Tim and I will have different days off now. This week, two major newspaper companies announced severe pay cuts (including the company I worked for in Kalamazoo, where they're taking 15% paycuts) and furloughs and reorganizations. Good news is rare right now in the newspaper industry. So I'm just glad Tim still has a job, 36 hours or less before he was set to be done.