: Major Relief
There was a chance before yesterday my mother could've lost her job. Hampton City Schools, like just about everyone else these days, was in the process of cutting staff to save money, and everyone was told a few months ago that "no one is safe."
A lost job for my mother would've meant no way to pay the mortgage, which would've meant we had no place to live. I'm currently employed, but my check doesn't even come close to being able to handle the mortgage payment and all my own bills on top of that. The only reason my mother can make it work is because, on top of her paycheck, she still received alimony from my father's estate and his military retirement pay.
Without those, we'd be fucked.
She might not be working at the same school (or even the same grade level) next year, but my mother will be working. Which, at the end of the day, is the most important thing. I'm just glad we don't have to worry about finding somewhere else to live, and I'm glad my mother gets to keep her health insurance -- with all the medications she's on and all the specialists she has to see, losing her job and the benfits that come with it could've been brutal.
Now to make sure I don't get the axe any time soon. HU says it's doing everything it can to avoid staff cuts -- so far, so good. However, there is one staff cut I'd like to see this place make, and if things keep going the way they have, it just might happen.
Seriously, the fact that she makes so much more than me, yet I'm the responsible one, really bugs the hell out of me. But I don't dare speak up about that; I'm all too aware of how it might look for the white guy to start griping about how he's paid or treated at a historically black school.
It's all about appearances, I guess.
There was a chance before yesterday my mother could've lost her job. Hampton City Schools, like just about everyone else these days, was in the process of cutting staff to save money, and everyone was told a few months ago that "no one is safe."
A lost job for my mother would've meant no way to pay the mortgage, which would've meant we had no place to live. I'm currently employed, but my check doesn't even come close to being able to handle the mortgage payment and all my own bills on top of that. The only reason my mother can make it work is because, on top of her paycheck, she still received alimony from my father's estate and his military retirement pay.
Without those, we'd be fucked.
She might not be working at the same school (or even the same grade level) next year, but my mother will be working. Which, at the end of the day, is the most important thing. I'm just glad we don't have to worry about finding somewhere else to live, and I'm glad my mother gets to keep her health insurance -- with all the medications she's on and all the specialists she has to see, losing her job and the benfits that come with it could've been brutal.
Now to make sure I don't get the axe any time soon. HU says it's doing everything it can to avoid staff cuts -- so far, so good. However, there is one staff cut I'd like to see this place make, and if things keep going the way they have, it just might happen.
Seriously, the fact that she makes so much more than me, yet I'm the responsible one, really bugs the hell out of me. But I don't dare speak up about that; I'm all too aware of how it might look for the white guy to start griping about how he's paid or treated at a historically black school.
It's all about appearances, I guess.