“Oh! Don’t even say that!”
That is what someone close to our family (no one reading here!) said to me this weekend.
I had said these words in our conversation: “If my husband loses his job….”
Why shouldn’t I say this? This is, and has been our reality for months now (and this person knows this!) We know it is coming, hopefully later rather than sooner. We don’t talk about it much but it’s always (always!) in the background, casting a shadow over everything we do. The uncertainty in our life right now is often overwhelming. So, yes, sometimes the words slip out: “If my husband loses his job….”
The situation in my small family makes people uncomfortable. I get that. My youngest sister has been laid off from her teaching job. She makes people uncomfortable. No matter how often we hear about this lousy economy, when people are confronted with others experiencing these hard times, they don’t know what to say. They want to pretend or hope it won’t happen. Believe me, I do, too! They know that they could so easily be in the same situation tomorrow or the next day or the next year. And it makes them uncomfortable.
I understand. Really, I do. But being in this situation makes ME uncomfortable, too. Every freaking day. So, sometimes, I just need to say it: “If my husband loses his job….”
I’ll try hard not to say it too often (I want to scream it every minute!) but sometimes, I just have to say it.