Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

I'm sure most of you remember reading Crapstorm 2013.  If you haven't, let me save you some time.  About half-way through July, we got notice that we would have to move out of the house we're currently renting.  On top of it, my husband's car died, leaving us -$1400 in the hole. On top of that, our insurance came in just the next day, which took another -$1500 out of us. So broke, homeless and with a massive dent in our savings, things were looking a lot like 2012 all over again.

I am admittedly a bit of an open book about the difficulties my husband and I face.  A lot of it is because I never want to face three months of depression like I did in 2012.  Letting it out gives me a chance to gain some perspective, get some feedback and learn from my mistakes, even if there's only two people reading this blog. :)

So my primary solution to Crapstorm 2013 was to begin applying for a second job.  I received some interviews and made quite an impression on one company in particular, but it was hard for me.  Getting a second job meant cutting back on my primary job a bit and losing my spare time to do things I loved, such as Circle of Open Traditions, volunteering or exercising.  And, for the first time in my life, I became angry at Aaron for having student loans.  Why should I have to sacrifice my dream job just because my husband decided to go to school and not pay it back when he had the chance?  Why can't he get a second or better job?  I laid all of this out plainly the day of my successful interview.  Aaron began applying for new jobs and second jobs that night.

Apparently, having that argument was the best decision of our lives.

Aaron heard back from one of the companies that he applied for the next morning, asking details about his knowledge in certain areas.  By that afternoon, he had a Skype interview the following morning at 7 AM.  Imagine his surprise when he finds out he's interviewing in Spain.  Yes, Spain.  They gave him a brief abilities test and he passed with flying colors.  Spain loved him!  They gave him a second interview with a plant here in the US at 1 PM.  In this interview, Aaron found out that they'd been searching for someone for this position for months, but everyone that they sent to Spain came back unapproved.  Spain was technically supposed to be the second interview, but they liked Aaron so much they nabbed him before the US could.  Aaron leaves the interview fairly certain he's got the job, but without a job offer letter, we're simply waiting.

Friday, Aaron gets the job offer letter!  In it, it offers him more money than Aaron has ever made.  At the same time, I tell Aaron that his skill set was perfect for the job, that he has an immense amount of experience for his age, and that he is malleable for the company.  "Ask for more," I said.

They took his request.

So Aaron has a new job and flies out to Michigan on August 19th to train.  He's making double what he's making now.  Don't get me wrong; we couldn't be more appreciative of his current job.  Between our jobs, we've managed to pull ourselves out of seemingly impossible scrapes.  That being said, this job feels like Aaron's first official "big boy" job.  It's real, it's happening and it pays enough.

In my Crapstorm 2013 blog entry, I mentioned briefly a metaphor about swimming.  I said that I felt like all we ever do is splash around in the water, barely being able to bob up enough to catch a breath before being pulled under again.  I said I wanted a raft in the flood.  What we just got was a boat.