Our Anniversary

This past week Jules and I celebrated our second year of marriage. Despite the sadness of my job lost, our anniversary was a day of smiles , admiration for each other and love. So much has happened in the past two years. It seems as we get older, life has a way of moving in first gear...did I know two years ago that I would no longer have a job and that I would have moved on from being with AFPAD ? Did I know that I now would have to be faced with some hard decisions about how I will live out the rest of my career years?

One thing that I do know is that I have my darling husband behind me all the way. His support and love has been overwhelming. He keeps telling me that he wishes that I could just stay home and not work.....but we all know that it is his big heart talking and not the reality of the today's world. I'll have plenty of time to stay home....right now I am energetic and looking for a stimulating challenge.

Tonight, Jules took me to our favorite Italian resto in St. Laurent...DiVino's. The wine and meal was superb. Days like today are special...it's the time to remember all the ones we love whether they are here with us , or have passed on, or are friends and family who we don't have contact with. Valentine's Day doesn't have to be commercial. It doesn't cost anything to tell someone that they are cared for and loved.

Happy Valentine's Day !

Food for Thought

Someone special sent this to me. I really need to share it with you.


There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind.

She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her.
She told her boyfriend, "If I could only see the world, I will marry you."One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.He asked her, 'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?'

The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear; for before they were yours, they were mine.'This is how the human brain often works when our status changes.Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Life is a gift. Today before you say an unkind word, think of someone who can't speak.Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.Today before you complain about life -Think of someone who went too early to heaven. Before you complain about your children -Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep -Think of the people who are living in the streets.Before whining about the distance you drive -Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.

And when you are tired and complain about your job -Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another -Remember that not one of us is without sin and we all answer to one MAKER.And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and thank GOD you're alive and still around.

The Dust is Settling

The past few days have been a roller coaster of emotions...the tears have finally dried up, but the pain still hurts. I've had this pain in my chest...no I'm not having a heart attack...it like my heart is broken. Yesterday, I went swimming and starting crying while doing laps...I felt that my spirit had been ripped from my soul. How could someone do that to me? I repeatedly said to my self that nobody is going to take away my spirit.

Tons of c.v.'s has been emailed off to companies...the pain of knowing that I will never in my working career ever have six weeks of vacation time really hurts. The pain of knowing that I will never have the time off to do any public speaking...the company really has upset my life.

I went to the office today to pick up my personal effects. I told myself that I would not cry, do my quick in and out and not dwell on the lost of my office or workplace.

Today I also tried to draw the analogy to my lost and this is what I came up with.
1. Loosing a job is like a bad divorce, hard feelings, going to take your belongings and out the door you go, never returning.
2. Loosing a job is never ever saying again "I love my job"....because loving a job only hurts more when the time comes to leave.
3. Loosing a job tells us that the next job will be just that - a job that you work and honestly earn your keep, then detach the moment you walk out the door at the end of the day....it's like having a pillow pal, not being in a committed relationship.
4. Loosing a job reminds us again that everything in life is temporary , therefore the next job will also be temporary.
5. Loosing a job is having your routine broken, not seeing special coworkers who have become like family over the years.
6. Loosing a job is like a death....especially the sudden trauma of feeling like being a displaced person and loosing total control of your emotions in front of bosses who one can see have their own difficulties containing and expressing their own emotions. They are human too but don't have the training to deal with people like me.
7. Loosing a job brings together the solidarity of those employees who lost their jobs at the same time..now it's about helping and supporting each other.
8. Loosing a job allows those affected to explore who they are, to step back and get excited about the future. I started to feel that way today.
9. Loosing a job will bring new adventures, new people and experiences which we hope will be positive for all.
10. Loosing a job which we worked so well at, allows us to be proud of our accomplishments and know that all our skills will be transposed in a new company who will appreciate what we have to offer.

And at the end of the day, we will be the winners!

On the Road to Moving Forward........

Well , this morning I became another statistic...I lost my beloved job after 27 years of service !
My two bosses took me into the office and gave me the news. I somehow deep inside of me knew it was coming. I wonder too if the recent economic crisis is actually used by many companies as a excuse to downsize. What ever... it's out of my control !

Anyhow, I will mourn my lost, miss my work friends deeply and move forward. One door closes and another will open, only this time things will be different.

I kept repeating to myself and others this morning that the worst has already happened in my life........this is going to be peanuts.

Guess what......I don't have to dream anymore about playing hooking ( and I never have)....I'm going swimming on Friday and Kell will watch over me.

How to get a hold of Me

I realized that there are some readers who have been trying to contact me directly and not through the blog.

I can be reached at :

ddrummond54@hotmail.com