No More Steps Back!

There comes a time in everyone’s life where you need to either stand up and show what you’re made of or meekly crawl into a hole. We’ve all seen the movies and read the books of those among us who have faced such adversity. It’s all very touching to see someone like Will Smith pick himself up and make a success of himself. That may be a little dramatic and far-fetched but it happens. There are also the real life stories of folks who just plain haven’t made one decent decision in their lives when it comes to living those lives. I, unfortunately, seem to fall in the latter category and the time has come, once again, for me to either show what I’m made of or crawl into a hole.

I have become a statistic. I’ve become one of the numerous people in this country that has been laid off. Come Friday, I will be unemployed. Friends and relatives that know me are wondering how that could happen. Aren’t you working for your sister? They’ll say. Yes I was I’ll tell them. I’ll also tell them that the last thing Karen wants to do is lay off her brother. What needs to be understood here is that I was working in the home building industry and we’ve all seen the news about how bad that’s been nation wide. Take a look at what that means in the state of Michigan and you’ll see how this became a problem. Suffice it to say that it’s ludicrous to think Karen and Bob did this without looking at every possible way to keep me on. If you know of my relationship with my sister you know of what I speak.

So now, what do I do? I’m 47 years old, I have no college degree and the only “marketable” skill I have is that I have the ability to talk to anyone about anything. I say these things not to put myself down or look for you guys to write and tell me how wonderful I am. I appreciate it and understand it. I also understand the reality of the situation. I’ve got to be honest here, I’m scared.

I’ve got applications out all over the country. The only ones that are even getting a bite are a couple grocery stores in Florida. The one that looks most promising is for the same company I worked for before I moved up here last year. That’s not a horrible thing but they’ve told me they can’t put me back into a management position until just after the first of the year. It looks like I’ll be flying down there next week to talk about what’s available and to take the assessment tests that I took when I was originally hired two years ago. I’ve set up meetings with three different District Managers and we’ll see what happens.

I’m also trying to set up a meeting with Whole Foods, another grocery chain. I’ve spoken to a Store Manager up in Destin and they’re looking for Management so we’ll see what happens. I’ve also got resumes at stores throughout Michigan and the Chicago area but I can’t get anyone to talk to me. I’ve also got resumes sent to stores in California and Colorado. Anyplace where I happen to know people.

Right now the thing that really is getting me down is that I was trying to set up a trip out west to meet my new granddaughter. That now has to wait. I have to get a job. 47 years old. I never thought I’d be in this position, but then, who does?

I do have the belief that I’ll be fine. I know I have friends and family all over the place that will help as much as they can. I’m doing that one step up and two steps back thing I’ve spoken of before and it doesn’t seem to be working. Time to get some spikes and dig in.