Everything will eventually be fine

We got some crappy news today. News of the financial variety. Economy, you can start stroking my hair and rubbing my shoulders any day now. My first thought upon hearing the news was: oh hell no, this is not the year for this, which is kind of ridiculous, I know. Life isn't sectioned off into years, not really. Good and bad and glorious and awful things are all jammed into every year, aren't they?

My main goal for this year was to become the best version of myself and all those numbered items in my sidebar are specific things I've always wanted to do yet have continually put off because I get in my own way too often. I never made a goal to have a smooth-sailing kind-of year (hindsight, damn you) because that's just not very realistic.

Ultimately, these damn things just happen, can't avoid them. It's how we roll with them that matters. Or something obnoxiously upbeat like that.

See, I'm trying to stay positive, look on the bright side, blah blah cheesefest blah, but I'm also kind of scared. It just seems like every time we get a few steps ahead and can plan a trip away or updates on our house or a nice pair of jeans, something comes along and pulls the rug out from under us and we're all, PEACE OUT SANTA FE, HOPE YOU'RE STILL THERE NEXT YEAR! Also, it's so much easier to go without before having kids. Kyle likes to eat and expects his parents to give him food (he's so DEMANDING, my god).

It's just tough, is what I guess I'm trying to say, and it's tough for so many of us, I know. This is just a tough time END OF STORY and we're all just crossing our fingers and saying some prayers and crunching some numbers and hoping the upswing is right around the corner. I didn't go to the gym tonight, even though I originally planned to, and I didn't do any laundry like I originally planned to and.....that's how I deal with problems. I just freeze. And this is not how I wanted this year to be. I've spent a long, long time holding my breath for various reasons and no matter how scared I am right now, I'm not going to hit the pause button. I just can't.

Anyway, no real way to wrap this post up. We got some shitty news and we're trying to figure some things out, and we're trying to stay positive even though we're a little scared, too.

But what I need from you is a little cheering up, a little distracting. I want to read good things in this comment section, so tell me something you're celebrating this month. Anything at all! Give me a little perspective, OK? Because the truth is, we're fine. We'll be fine. Everything's fine even if it doesn't quite feel fine right at this moment.

Comments

[KD]

I'll be celebrating with my twin boys (talk about unexpected financial setbacks :) on their first birthday this Thursday!

Hope things go better for you soon!

[Laurie]

I have no perspective to offer probably as I've got a HUGE financial decision to make as of 7 p.m. this evening but I will tell you that I know you are going to be just fine, because you are. You are just that kind of people.

Also? You are so the best version of yourself, already, and I can't wait to meet you in person and hug you for minutes and it may even be embarrassing but I won't care and it won't cost a thing.

Whatever it is I hope it is easily remedied. We are all so much more than our crunched numbers. Let's try to remember that together.

xo.

[Carrie]

My birthday is in 20 days! I will be celebrating my continued journey into my mid-30s. Which totally messes with my mind, because I'm sure I'm only about 15 or so :)

Hugs to you. I hope things improve soon.

[K]

I'm celebrating this beautiful weather we are (finally) having. Snow be damned! It's supposed to get to 60 today!
Also, I'm going on a Mexican cruise at the end of the month but you probably don't want to know about that.
Hang in there! You'll pull through just fine! (also, I've found that going to the gym/running really does help in these situations)

[Dr. Maureen]

I'm celebrating the spring-like weather we're having in the Northeast. I'm celebrating the fact that no one in my house currently has a gastrointestinal virus. No one! 'Tis a miracle! (It was a loooooong February.) And I'm celebrating that Jack is going to give up the bink entirely starting tonight. Theoretically. :)

Hang in there, Jennie. I'm sure it will all be fine.

[Raven]

Um. I am not going to be much help on the celebration front, I'm afraid. (I'm having a round of dramafest over here) I can however assure you that Kyle will continue to eat and you would be surprised how long two adults can survive on Kraft Mac n Cheese and canned tuna. It's pretty much all we could afford to feed ourselves but Sprog ate like a king with his fancy formula and homemade baby-food, by god.

What I'm trying to say is there is always a way through, hang in there!

[heidi]

Sunday we are celebrating Pi day with my husband's family. Yes, we are all geeks. But pi/pie! The menu? Pizza pi, pecan pi, carbonara pi, apple caramel pi, cherry pi, chicken pot pi, bacon quiche pi,pi-neapple upside-down cake, and lemon meringue pi. You should totally celebrate pi day!

[Kim]

Well, my son just took a straw out of a juice box and went 'SEVEN!!!'.. because it's shaped like a 7. So. Think of all that kind of fun you'll be having with Kyle in like the blink of an EYE. :) Screw the bills, your kid will be recognizing numbers out of household items!!! wheeee!

[Amanda Brown]

I love your honesty and your perspective. This economy BLOWS.

[pickles & dimes]

My birthday is on St. Patty's Day, and that's when I plan to ride a mechanical bull and hopefully escape without any broken bones. :)

[Jill]

I feel for you. I'm constantly slipping on that rug.

Celebrating this month: the one year birthday of my puppy. How can puppy kisses not make you smile? :)

[s.]

This recent college grad just got her first 'adult' job. I start in April, and until then I'm celebrating the flexibility of unemployment! :)

[Leigh]

We are celebrating our decision to not take the baby anywhere this month. He used to be such a good traveller, but illness and teeth and god knows what else has made him and us miserable every last weekend away. So no more, until May.

And I'm celebrating leaving him with his dad for a few days while I go to a conference in San Antonio!

I'm sorry things are hard for you all right now.

[Kristie]

Today I'm celebrating the beautiful, sunny weather we're having and the fact that I get to see someone special in 68 days.
I hope things start looking up for you guys. And soon!!

[jodifur]

Michael is turning 5. And after months and months and months of testing, it looks like he is going to be just fine.

Right before I got married, and right after we bought a house, like 3 weeks after, my fiance, now husband, lost his job. And it sucked and we cried. And a month later he got a better job. Things happen and they are scary and they suck, but sometimes they work out.

[natalie]

Unexpected setbacks aside, this is still going to be a great year for you and your family. You're strong and you love each other and YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS. Promise. (And just think... you can drink the HELL out of some champagne come April.)

[Holly]

Garrett is totally underemployed and on top of that is losing his job. It sucks. And this economy is so tough that jobs that my company was hiring with no experience 5 years ago, now need 5+years of experience. I hate the economy.

BUT...

Every night when we come home from our shitty days, I look at him and think -- I'm so lucky I found you, and I'm so happy I don't have to go through this alone. Through all this craptastic-ness (totally a word, btw) I am still making a life and a family for myself and THAT is wonderful!

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

So sorry to hear you're having a tough time.

I am celebrating the fact that holidays and birthdays that require baked goods or heavy meals are OVER for the foreseeable future... which means I can finally maybe actually stick to Weight Watchers for more than a few days in a row.

I know! What an exciting thing to celebrate! The occasion probable requires some brownies, right?

[Jess]

My birthday is this month and my sister is getting married this month. There will definitely be much celebrating even though we are also being extra careful with our money right now. It will just have to be... inexpensive celebrating.

So sorry to hear about your bad news. Fingers crossed that that upswing shows up, oh, today. Or maybe tomorrow.

[Crystal Cargill]

I'm sorry for your bad news...

On a cheering up note, on the 16th we will be celebrating my daughter's 3rd transplant anniversary (that she had when she was 8 months old)! She is doing great and we are so blessed and grateful to her donor and his family.

[Linda]

Thank you for sharing the good times and the not-so-good times. I always look forward to reading your blog and I am hopeful that the financial situation will improve for us all.

[-R-]

We got some bad financial news too, which is why I'm not going to BlogHer. We've had to make some serious additional changes too, but I have faith that things will work out- for your family too.

We're celebrating that B officially transitioned into the toddler room at daycare yesterday. He gets to do some really cool big kid things in the new room.

[Kristabella]

Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm going through a bit of the same thing myself right now. Like after almost a year of having a mortgage, it is hitting me that I HAVE A MORTGAGE! And it needs to be paid! And OMG, I might not have enough to pay it this month.

Hang in there! Look at your adorable little guy and remember that he's really all that matters!

[Deanna]

Big celebration at my house early next month-we're celebrating surviving a year of parenthood as my twins turn one. I'm planning lots of fun party things, complete with birthday banners and pink and green cupcakes. Woo hoo!

[Kerri Anne]

I never! link-pimp in comments, except when I'm asked, and seeing as how you asked what I'm celebrating and just this morning I wrote about celebrating the beginning of my very own Superhero(ine) Stage of divorce I thought the link might be appropriate: http://is.gd/a3jUL

The Superhero(ine) Stage is by far the BEST part of everything that's happened this past year. I'm so! hopeful (and my god, I am HAPPY), and guess what? That hope and happy extends all the way to Texas, to your front door. Let me know if there's anything I can do, babe. ANYTHING. Seriously.

[HollyLynne]

Our first anniversary is tomorrow!!! I have a doctor's appointment to check on the Bean then after we're going out to one of our favorite restaurants. They have S'mores on the desert menu . . . molten marshmallow, dark chocolate ganache and homemade graham crackers. It is going to be pretty rad!

[Michelle]

Something happy!? We are taking our four-year-old daughter to Disney World on Saturday! It is going to BLOW her MIND.

Just to talk about your situation a little bit - I hope that's not against the rules. We recently had some pretty bad financial news ourselves(two weeks before Disney, great timing). My husband was all "We can't ever get ahead." And I try to be all "At least it's happening to people like us and not somebody who wouldn't recover." We've had to replace our furnace three weeks before our girl was born, then the roof four months after she was born. It's always something. But it still sucks.

[Heather]

I cannot put into words how pissed I am right now. And trust me, if I had some control, and could do something about it, I totally would. But that's not what you wanted in those post.

So, something I am celebrating...I am having my first baby shower this Saturday...and whoa, as of today, I only have 9 weeks left (oh.my.gosh.single.digits). I am also celebrating Spring Break with the kids next week. Even though I will only take one day off of work, that day will be dedicated to coloring Easter eggs, which always makes me happy. Even though Kaylee will probably be bored and sullen, and Dylan will want to just shake his head back and forth because he likes the way his shaggy mop swings in his eyes, and A.J. will probably pee his pants, it promises to be fun.

[Meghan]

I am celebrating Elizabeth's first day of not having green gunk coming out of her eyes since Thursday! Pink eye?! How about green eyeS! Sending lots of hugs to you! :)

[Laurie]

I am celebrating seeing this on MSN today:
http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100254643&gt1=31036

You see, I'm really trying to avoid fast food lately for financial & also bedonkadonk reasons. So I really appreciate things like this that come along to make it that much easier for me.

[Crystal]

Times are hard, but the good news is you both still have your jobs and EACH OTHER!! Not to mention a kick ass kid and dog! Money is just money and can't buy happiness (though damn if it doesn't kind of make the world go round)! You have so many great things happening in your life! I know it's hard when things are rough, but really try to focus on those. Those memories and thoughts will get you through this rough patch.

As for what we are celebrating.... :)
Getting out of this DAMN APARTMENT and into the house that has been consuming our lives! We are looking forward to being able to live in the house and not just make decisions on what its backsplash should look like!

Let's do lunch soon... let me know when!

Hugs!

[Lemon Gloria]

I'm so sorry. Good for you for being positive!

Happy news? It's sunny and beautiful in DC! Spring is on the way!

[auntie]

i'm celebrating the fact that sometime this month, my boyfriend and i will be planning our first ever honest-to-god-not-just-an-overnight-thing vacation together. which means that we've been together long enough to actually TAKE a vacation together, which also means this is my longest relationship evah! we are such different people, but somehow it works :)

[Laura]

I'm celebrating good weather! And healthy babies - my two were both out with RSV and bronchitis for most of February!

(And don't worry Santa Fe will still be here and just as unusual as ever!)

[barbetti]

Yesterday was shitty for us, as well. It's almost laughable, really, Stephen being laid-off, one month into his new job and after we finally found ourselves on semi-solid footing. But you know, things DO get better. And getting through those hard times makes the good times that much more epic. I'm really sorry Jennie. I wish the economy would get its shit together already.

Something good... hm. I invited my ex-boyfriend's mom over for a girls' night (along with my father's ex-wife and her daughter) this weekend and she accepted! Hopefully they don't notice my $2 wine. Ha.

[Natalie]

Everything WILL get better. I hope you find a million dollars in a parking lot.

[Elsha]

Last June I got laid off. I was the sole breadwinner. We had a 1 year old and I was 14 weeks pregnant. We moved back in with my parents and both our cars suffered irreparable damage (a few months apart.) It was one thing after another for months. BUT. I am happier than I was before. Just remember that stuff is only stuff, it's family and relationships that are important.

And this month we are celebrating that after 8 months on the market our house finally sold!

[Vos]

I'm so out of the loop but I can say that EVERYTHING will be ok, why? Because I said so and I'm rarely wrong.

Celebrating this month for me will including Brandon and I moving into our first apartment eeek.

[Sarah]

I know you're doing Couch to 5K and slowly getting into running. As a runner, I can tell you every time I went through tough times going out for a run always helped clear my head. I know its a tough slog the first 10 minutes, but a nice long, SLOW run will do wonders for you -- somehow it delivers a healthy dose of perspective so that by the time you return to your front door you'll find yourself saying, 'we can get through this' and actually believing it.

[TUWABVB]

I'm so sorry honey - I feel like you guys have had enough bad news and although I KNOW you'll come out stronger on the other side, I just wish karma would move on to someone I don't know or care about. I love you attitude and I know you have a great support system, but if you ever need anything you just need to ask.

[gorillabuns]

i'm celebrating my kids are alive today?

other than that, i'm not the most positive chick around these parts.

so sorry for the shitty news.

[Katy]

I'm really sorry. Not to be a consolation, but more of a "I get where you're coming from," but Hubs and I decided that we HAD to live near our families after Charlie was born and we had to take a major, major pay cut to do it and the cost of living is higher here than where we were before. End result was that we literally just didn't look at our bottom line for eighteen months because THE ENDS DID NOT MEET. Period. If we bought anything that wasn't food, then we were over-budget.

It's better now, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that while things may suck for a while, you will make it through, I know it. You're good like that.

[Erica]

ok. random. but.

THINGS. WILL. BE. BETTER.

recently I had a baby of my own, and lost my job all within about five months time.

It sucked (bigtime), but I got through it. I have a better, more interesting job, a hustband who I know loves me for me and not for the money I (aspire to) make, and I have a happy, healthy (not so baby) girl sleeping in her crib who will wake up soon and want to play play play.

Because to her, she got her mommy back for a little while, and to me, I got my daughter back...

It is all in the way you look at things.

Keep your chin up.