The Part Where the Author Shares Some Not-So-Good News

Breathe deep the gathering gloom.
- The Moody Blues

On Tuesday when I revealed the new blog design, I mentioned that I had some exciting news. In retrospect that was not exactly a accurate choice of words. I do have some news that has the potential to be exciting but I also have some not-so-good news.

I always like to get the bad news first. I'm a let's-get-it-out-of-the-way kinda gal.

On July 22nd the Farmer will no longer be employed. As I've mentioned before we are not farmers in the traditional sense (plowing and harvesting). After college the Farmer worked for one of the nation's largest dairy product operations. It was in this environment that he decided that he was a farm boy in spirit and NOT a corporate kind of guy. He went back to school at night and got his Master's Degree in Entrepreneurialship because he wanted to work with small, privately owned, high energy operations where people roll up their sleeves and make decisions without 50 committees weighing every option.

For the past few years he's been General Manager of one of the largest fresh and organic herb operations in the U.S. It's large, in the fact that it had a large market share and yet the entire operation was accomplished by a small and dedicated bunch of people.

Enter a large investment group, who offered to purchase the processing and packaging end of the business. The owner sold last fall, keeping the farming operation. As General Manager, the Farmer found himself working for the new owners. Guess what? They are taking that operation "corporate". They're moving the processing and packaging to Ohio and the Farmer hasn't been invited along for the ride which is OK with him because he doesn't "do" corporate.

The Farmer has a large network of contacts and several other irons in the fire. He's thinking about freelancing and consulting, which would allow him to work out of the house. That's one option.

Unemployed is a place that we've been many times during his career. It's not a place you want to be, but it happens. The first time you lose your job it's what I call "white knuckle time". But you get through it and the second time is not so scary. Down the road you automatically pull out your "Unemployed McGuyver Plan".

The number one thing I learned in five years of therapy is to be fierce with the truth. That Moody Blues quote has to do with facing the gathering gloom head on, breathing it in deep, letting it give you it's best shot and then moving on from there. The truth is our income will be impacted. The truth is that it will not be business as usual. The truth is belts will need to be tightened. The truth is we'll have to find creative ways to save and creative ways to earn a living.

My blogging friend Tressa in Norway has mentioned many times that the thing she misses most about the U.S. (besides Velveeta) is the American can-do spirit. This spirit is alive and very well in the midwest and we try to embody that spirit. We do not wait for someone to come and save us. Help would be fine but the first line of defense is at the end of your arm. The second line of defense is your friend and your neighbor. Government is down the list somewhere.

So the Farmer and I are swinging into action. I've been hitting the classifieds looking for something, but honestly I need to be a stay-at-home mom at this point in my life. Huh? A sixty-something stay-at-home mom? No little kids underfoot but we do have a senior citizen living here that needs some supervision.

I want to write, I want to photograph and I want to keep blogging. To accomplish that I'm going to need to attract some quality advertisers like the Botanica people on my sidebar. No more Google ads! I'll tell you that horror story at the next staff meeting. There's another project that I'll tell you about tomorrow.

When our friends find themselves faced with a challenge we always say, "Let me know if there's anything I can do." And we're sincere. I've said it hundreds of times and I meant it. People have said it to me also but I've just realized that I've never, ever taken them up on the offer. What's up with that?

Anyway, I will make a promise to you. If you keep reading, I'll keep writing. I will ask a favor of you though. There is a way that you can help me.

Tell a friend.

If you like what you read here, tell a friend. Or two. Pass the word. There's an old saying, "Telephone, telegraph or tell-a-friend."

Here's our horoscopes from yesterday's paper -

Mine -
"You have great optimism; it's something you bring to the game. There will be a lot of work involved in this next endeavor, however. The others want to see you out there sweating, not just cheerfully urging them on."

The Farmer's -
You've figured out something you could use to make your business more productive. There's something else you'd like to have, but can you afford it? If it counts as a business expense, maybe you can."

Come back tomorrow when I share the part about how I'm sweating, or more accurately, working in a sweatshop!