It is highly likely that none of you have been fired from your job, by your husband…..on your birthday.
Let me tell you how this happened to me, and I am better because of it!
My husband, Doug and I have been together for almost 34 years, married for 27 of those years. For most of our adult lives we have worked together at alternative schools starting when we were in college. We have a knack for helping at-risk youth. As life progressed, I received my Masters in Community Counseling while through a lot of trial-and-error Doug became a school administrator. His job took us from Wisconsin to Minnesota where he obtained a job as a school principal at an education district where I eventually became a mental health practitioner.
We are going to fast forward through a lot of drama, Doug became the Director of the Education District where he had developed a lot of successful programs. The consequence of developing successful programs, is they grow. When programs grow, they outgrow their space. Doug did an extensive strategic planning as leaders of schools do, but in the end the funding did not come through. Instead of moving to bigger digs the present programming had to be reduced to stay in budget. The easiest way to stay in budget is to reduce staff. Unfortunately, Doug had to make the horrible decision to reduce teacher’s time. In the mix, I became collateral damage as it is very difficult to keep your wife in a job when you are reducing others’ job people’s jobs.
So, at the end of the day, on my birthday (January 24, 2020), I got the official letter during a meeting with Doug, my supervisor, and my union representative that my contract would not be renewed. Here is the plot twist, my firing was a liberation. I would have never left my job, after 25 years of working with at-risk youth where my job was to walk beside my students as they were going through some of the worst things imaginable, it took its toll. On top of that working with your husband when he is everyone’s boss is not ideal either. I was burnt out but could never leave my students nor walk away from a job that was supporting my family. Lastly, if you noticed the date above, just 6 weeks later everyone’s life was about to turn topsy-turvy. I just got a head start on everyone else!
Fast forward 4 years I am pursuing my dream which would never have been possible without Doug firing me. However, I did want flowers because I wanted Doug to have to go to the florist and ask what he should get for his wife on her birthday and that he was firing her. I didn’t get flowers but that is okay because I am a “buy my own flower” kind of gal!