Just Fine

This song by Mary J. Blige is my current anthem. I'm so pumped. Today marks the 1 year anniversary of mom's heart surgery (dad's fifteenth anniversary was a couple weeks ago). I thank God daily for them.

Interesting that the song is by Mary J. who has definitely faced her share of adversity. Adversity is something that each of us deals with on a regular basis, I'm sure. The key is to be able to rise above it and continue pressing on. Which is what Mom did and has always done. I've seen her, on so many occasions, dig her heels in and get through tough situations. She's never been one to be steamrolled over. I love that about her. She treated the surgery like another obstacle to overcome.

Though the surgery couldn't have been prevented (it wasn't caused by anything she did wrong, it was just a bad valve), she is doing absolutely everything RIGHT to prevent anything else from happening. She looks and feels great and has an amazing attitude. She's just fine.

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I would write more, but I'm going to continue dancing around the apartment. Oh come on, you know you dance when no one is watching, too.

For What it's Worth

Where do I even begin?

My organization is undergoing a major reconstruction - I can't believe it's called a reconstruction, but just go with me on this one. It's been widely published that 1,000 jobs (of about 2,500) will have to be cut to make up for some fiscal issues we're dealing with. This is the devil of working for a non-profit. You love the work, hate the job instability. Nevertheless, most of the people in our department have been informed of their status.

It's emotionally hard to break up a work family. In many cases, we end up spending more time with those at work than at home especially during disaster season. We have some veterans in our department that are being let go to meet the budget restraints. We have some newbies that had lots of potential that are also being let go, again due to the budget. I think what keeps me up at night are the people who are single parents, the people who are supporting a family, paying a mortgage, paying college tuition, trying to make ends meet - I worry for them. It's a tough job market. For those who have been out of the game for so long, it's now time to dust off that resume and get back on the playing field. A tough break for the one woman I know who has worked for 35 years in the organization.

To that end, I've learned there's no such thing as loyalty anymore. In business or really in life for that matter. Once upon a time, you could establish your entire career at one place. Look at my parents - after residency, they each stayed with the same hospitals until retirement (my mom is still working at hers). That's 30 + years devoted to one place and they wouldn't even think to get rid of her. And there are plenty of people who have aligned themselves with the top, in some ways positioning themselves to stay - and that doesn't matter either. They say a RIF isn't personal, but that doesn't mean the feeling of getting laid off isn't personal.

A move like this impacts the people staying as well as those who leave. It hardly seems fair to think about those who are staying since the security is built in, but they face the uncertainty of the next steps. When 1/2 the department is gone, who takes up all of that work? Obviously those who are chosen to stay. What will their lives look like now? That's the million dollar question.

I'm going to miss our Communications crew. It will be hard to come into work everyday and not hear their voices, laughter and I will most certainly miss the stellar advice I get from their expertise on communications. This reconstruction is a hard pill to swallow, but I wouldn't want anyone leaving not knowing what a great impact they have had on my communications career - for what it's worth.