When Jonathan lost his job, we made a conscious decision not to fall into the black hole of despair. We planned. We prepared. We decided to temporarily let go of things that might suck us into despondent non-movement (e.g. video games). Then we moved forward toward our future with hope proudly displayed on our sleeves.
But we have to work hard every day to stay hopeful. It’s a full time job to battle the stress of finding a job, the worry that you won’t find one before the money runs out, the sleepless, angst-filled nights and the lazy, immobilizing mornings. So, from the beginning, we decided to set up a routine.
Wake up at 6 a.m. (Steve Inskeep loudly telling us the news on NPR)
Make coffee.
Get to work. Which for us is sitting at our desks, job searching, fielding calls from recruiters and potential employers, writing, reading business books, quizzing each other with interview questions and tweaking our resumes.
For a break we get up, walk around, do chores.
Then we sit down at the desk again and work until 6 or 7 in the evening.
And when we feel overwhelmed we don’t lie down on the floor discouraged and despondent (although sometimes the floor looks mighty nice). Instead we head out the door. We take a walk. We ride our bikes. We explore neighborhoods and historic shopping districts. We remind ourselves there is a world out there and we’re not alone.
Basically, we practice hope with perpetual motion. We don’t stop moving forward.
Or as Dory from Finding Nemo would say, we “just keep swimming.”
Beautiful. Keep swimming. I went to the dentist today and Shelly said to tell you hi. She reads your blog from time to time and said you all should be writers. I told her you were, but writing doesn't always pay the bills. She understood. So keep writing. Keep hoping. Keep laughing.
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