Thursday, April 8, 2010

Mr. Ken

This post is dedicated to my WONDERFUL husband and I'll tell you why. It may be long and rambling so please hang in there with me. On March 27, 2009 Ken was let go from a job that he had held for the last 20 years ! Yes, I said 20 years. Ken is a "computer guru." He helped his clients get their computers and their systems back up and running. Never in my wild imagination did I think that we would have to deal with this situation. Ken came home that afternoon and went right to work on finding a job. Some days he would work for 8 hours to find something. I can't tell you how many resumes were sent out, how many online applications that he filled out and how many follow up phone calls he made. There were also interviews and rejections to deal with. It is truly amazing how many HR departments CANNOT respond to a call or email. Being unemployed is a very emotional and mental experience. Many days I'd work at school and then come home and work on finding possible jobs for Ken on one of the many on line job sites. It got so rough early on that I suggested that Ken only" job shop " 4 hours a day and then do something else. He took my idea and ran with it! Several projects received some attention but we have a ways to go. Ken is a Trooper! Below are some pics of the past year...
Ken's corn from our small garden. July brought MY first
blog post. Blogging has been a lifesaver for me!
It has been a way for me to divert my mind to something
else. I have met some wonderful friends through this and
look forward to meeting more!
We still celebrated the boy's birthday. Isn't he cute ?
Remember this birthday experience?
Mr. Contemplation.
There was a smile on Ken's face 80% of the time. Of course
there were times when he was down but who wouldn't of
been after giving 20 years dedication to one company!
We celebrated our 10 year anniversary ! It was different
than what we had invisioned in our 9th year but.... at least
there was celebrating going on!
We had a low key Christmas with some of the family.
Time was spent with friends. We couldn't do without our
super friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January brought us hope that the corner was going to be
turned. Job shopping continued and the weather drearys
were dealt with.
A visit to the ER and a smile on his face.
Eye surgery and a smile on his face.
My Valentine dinner date complete with .... a smile.
Easter was celebrated just recently. (see past posts)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After much searching, fear, not knowing, rejections and
frustrations I am happy to say that....
ONE WEEK AGO Ken was offered a JOB!!!!!!!
Hallelujah and Praise God!
Yes, he excepted their offer and he began work
this past Monday. Same type of job as before but
his Boss is a much better person than the last
one. He is kind, thoughtful and respectful of
his employees.
Today has been one week since he excepted the
job and here he is today...
Here we have Mr. Ken arriving home from WORK.
What a nice phrase to be able to say again!
There are not enough words to begin to express
how proud I am of Ken. It was a tough year and
five days but we kept it together and he stayed
pretty calm. I appreciate ALL the time he spent in
looking for a job. It wasn't easy.
I'm also proud to say the we still have our house
and cars, we are NOT in debt or behind on our bills
and we still have our senses of humor! That's not to
say that we don't have a way to go to get back to
where we were but WE WILL DO IT!!!!!
Ken---I love you! and I just want to say
THANK YOU for sticking with it. It was hard
but YOU did it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To my readers--
I didn't post about this because it was something
we were living and I wanted my blog to be a happy
place for me to come to and for you too. This was one of THE hardest things to get through
other than losing my MOM.
I WOULD NOT wish this on ANYONE.
Thanks for listening and being there. I will be taking
"blog break" for a bit BUT I will check up on YOU and
see what going on with you.
LOVE to ALL and I'll see you soon. :)
Melinda
~Keep on Dreaming~

16 comments:

  1. What a wonderful story of dedication to one another, perseverance, faith and hope. Thanks so much for sharing with us, Melinda. I am so glad if I played any small part at all in your support. You are always so supportive of me. I thank you!

    Hugs, Carrie

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  2. You love for Mr. Ken is shinnin' throughout this post. Yes, when we shut down our semi company Hubby and I both lost our paychecks and it was about a year before Hubby found another position. It's tough but you have come through it smilin'.

    Enjoy your bloggin' break, you will be missed my dear so don't make it too long...."K"????

    God bless you both and have a wonderful weekend!!!

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  3. Hi Melinda. I had no idea of your journey this past year, but you BOTH are so blessed. You know what matters most in life, which is loving and being loved.

    I am so happy for you that this is all working out...and that you are both still in love and smiling. A hug to you both. Carol

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  4. Hi Melinda
    I am so happy for both you and Ken. It is so wonderful to see the love that you both have for each other. I know your support was such a blessing to Ken through this past year. I hope you enjoy your blog break and I look forward to your return :)
    xoxo
    Mimi~

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  5. Mr Ken is my hero.. how did he keep smiling!!! Melinda, I'm so happy that Ken has landed a new job and that things are looking brighter! Hurry back from that break.. we'll miss all of those monthly events! I know what you mean about not posting things.. I didn't want to post about my recent health issues because I wanted Spoonful to remain a happy place. Thankfully , it still is. We are all here to listen when you need us.
    See ya chickie, Have a great weekend ~ do something special with Mr Ken.

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  6. It must have been a hard time for you. Here a LOT of people lost their job.congratulate Mr Ken for me and have a nice break and see you soon! hugs Catherine

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  7. Melinda, I'm so happy we are married to brothers, obviously separated at birth. That never quit attitude is one that I admire more than anything in the world.

    And I'm happy you have him in your life.

    And happy that he has you.

    You are both wonderful.

    I'm glad he got a job...he sounds like he would be a wonderful asset to any employer!

    Hugs and Happy Break!

    PS Don't forget to exhale now.

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  8. Congratulations to Mr. Ken. Thank you so much for your blog, while I am not a blogger, I love reading them.

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  9. God is faithful! And he blesses the persevering! I'm glad Mr. Ken has a job! May God prosper the work of his hands!

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  10. For better or worse -- such a testament to what marriage is all about. You two obviously know what's important in life. Each other! It sounds like you got a real gem:)

    So happy that things are better for you both!

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  11. Dear Melinda, what a fantastic story to share with us. Thank you for doing that. You guys as a couple are amazing and well done to you Ken for never giving up and smiling [most of the time]. I take my hats off to you both.

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  12. Hi Melinda!

    Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving your kind comment.

    Wow...had no idea what was going on "behind the scenes" so to speak! While I'm glad that blogging provided a happy place for you to turn, I'm also glad that you had "live" friends to turn to in times of need. Everyone needs to be able to share their stress and anxiety at some point!

    I am so glad to hear the Mr. Ken has found employment...it sounds like better place than the one he gave 20 years to. I really struggle with that...employers that can let faithful workers go without so much care as a thought. I've seen this happen time and time again in the auto industry (my mom's side of the family was employed by Ford in Detroit and my father's side with GM in Detroit). Such a shame to lose such dedicated workers to "save" a few bucks. In the end it always costs these employers more due to hires/rehires/job training etc.

    Hope that the school year was successful...it's winding down!

    Take care and we need to get together soon!

    Val

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  13. Dear Melinda,

    I am so happy for you and Mr. Ken for getting back to work and gettig that burden off your shoulders. I love to read your blog because it makes my heart sing when I see a couple who are so loving, dedicated, and caring towards one another. I hope the bad is behind you both and blessing are to come. You are already blessed with each other!!

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  14. Thank you for such a wonderful post. The world is a harsh place and the last couple of years even more so. The attitude that Ken kept helped the two of you in so many ways!

    God bless, misha

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  15. OMG I can't believe you have been going thru all this and we didn't know. Congrats to your dh on his new job! You really have a reason to celebrate this weekend. I work at a public library and get tons of people in each week that are looking for jobs. I know how heart breaking the whole process can be..I am so glad he found something he likes.

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  16. Wow. What a journey. I'm so glad he found a GOOD job that he's happy with. And I'll tell you, he must be a wonderful man to keep such a sweet smile on his face throughout it all! :)

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