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.

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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)

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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~