I had a great run this morning.One of the benefits of being unemployed is the ability to run as long as I want, anytime I want… actually, I exaggerate.What I really mean is that I have a greater flexibility in scheduling my runs, in between taking care of the kids, looking for a job, etc.But as a friend once told me, you can only spend so much time looking for a job.So much of it involves just waiting…
As I began this process of blogging, I have learned that unemployment is not a solitary experience when you are married.In my case, I believe my wife is the one who is bearing the biggest burden of my unemployment.She not only has the burden of becoming the sole income earner in the household, she is also trying to be a supportive wife to a guy who is feeling pretty fragile right now, while being a nurturing mother to her children.Furthermore, she is by nature a much more reserved person than me, so my experiment with blogging about such an intimate personal experience like unemployment, has added a great deal of pressure on Theresa.I also did not have the foresight to get her “buy-in” fully before I began this blog endeavor, which added to the stress she felt.
The first 2 weeks of unemployment were full of ups and downs.I am very thankful for the support I received from my family and friends, who sent messages of encouragement and promises of prayer for me.I even had friends extend themselves to tell me that they will look for opportunities within the companies they worked for, and it really helped me to stay positive.It was when I was alone doing something mundane, my thoughts tended to spiral down towards negativity.
