[nagymom]

Jenna I know EXACTLY what you are feeling! My husband went through an unemployment period that lasted almost a year to the day. He is retired Army (20 years) so we at least had his retirment pay from there to fall back on some, not that it was anywhere near enough. Unemployment and his retirement pay kept the bills paid with few frills.

He worked for Lexington Home Brands furniture -- went to work for them when he retired. He was the HR Manager for 2 of their 16 plants. Several months before he was laid off, they started massive lay-off rounds that nearly devastated the small town of Lexington. The vast majority of the town worked there! Then one day after having the unpleasant duty of laying off, my dh was called in and told to clear his office that it was his turn. To this day I harbor bitter feelings towards them. They paid $8000 to move us there and for hiring bonus and they just threw it all away!

We have always been frugal but learned to be even more so. I thoroughly enjoyed having him home but it was SO stressful wondering if the phone was going to ring! He exhausted everything in the area so he started looking nationwide. As it turned out we stayed in state but moved 3 hours north.

He has been with his new company since June of 2002 but I still find it hard to relax completely and don't know if I ever will--at least until he retires completely. His goal is to do just that when he's 55 (in 9 years). In the meantime we still shop bargains and it is always in the back of my mind that nothing is certain.

Do try to relax and enjoy life. You will start to feel better about things. I doubt we'll ever feel 100% secure again but at least now we know we can survive!

Jayne