Sometimes, things take a long time to come to fruition. And sometimes, they just move ridiculously fast…
T finished up with landscaping and the likely dead end father/son business and has returned to what he was doing before.
It’s now been well over a year since he was laid off from a good job, which seemed to be the path toward getting qualified and good earning potential in the trades. Since then he’s dabbled in a few things, and although he still doesn’t have a long-term plan, he’s just happy to be doing something that utilises his skills. Redundancy was a big blow for both of us – he was the main income earner, I was still studying – and because fabrication was something he kind of fell into, he’s floundered a bit since then.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a leech and he’s not lazy. It’s been embarrassing for him to come home on weeks when he’s hardly made enough to cover work expenses like gas and lunches. He’s just as glad as I am that he should now be able to pay the bills. Sure, this is going to mean spending more on gas and food (it’s not as far as his old job, but he’ll be driving our car instead of a work truck), some new clothes and him once again coming home tired, aching and sore everyday, but the benefits have to outweigh the negatives.
You know the saying “it’s who you know?” In this case, it really is all about contacts. It was an old flatmate of mine (now in a relationship with T’s sister and who has just had two kids with her, funnily enough) who got T his first job in the industry, and who got him this gig. It probably goes without saying that I am incredibly grateful to have crossed paths with him back in 2006. I was NOT looking forward to another round of endless job seeking like the one T went through last year. Even though it wasn’t me on the line, that didn’t make it any easier – the discouragement, the frustration, the disheartened face that would greet me when I got in the door.
So, whether this lasts, whether this leads to anything more, remains to be seen. Whether he wants to stay in the industry isn’t even really on the cards right now. I don’t think an apprenticeship is going to happen – people seem to think it’s easy to get one, but they be FOOLS – but at least he has the option of paying a few hundred dollars and getting his welding tickets if need be. (The only bummer is that they don’t last long and have to be renewed constantly. NOT cheap.)
For now, I want us to be able to really get our financial house in order; it hurts me to think how much we frittered away in the past, but we’ve learned to live on so much less now. The priority will be getting his debt paid down, while saving a little for a rainy day, while the money is there. After that, we’ll see.
As for me, I have a whole post coming up on that. Stay tuned!
Have you talked about how you feel? Because it sounds like you’re stressing over your finances and his job situation more than him. I have a friend in a similar situation where she’s main/only breadwinner in the house and it’s quite stressful.
Yes, many times, it’s really tested us especially when I was at the height of uni stress along with everything else. I’m a natural worrywart and natural planner, so I’m always going to be in charge of this kinda stuff.
It’s not easy for him either but he tends to keep it inside, and doesn’t like to upset me with his worries. Plus he’s naturally a live-in-the-moment type.
Anyway, we’re both stoked with how things are turning out and are determined to make the most of it while we can!