If you assess my life based solely on my blog posts, you might assume I live in some happy-happy, joy-joy bubble.  My life IS pretty darn sweet, but a bubble it is not.  I am fully aware of all the nastiness going on in the world, and have met people directly affected by some of it.

Eventually though, flare ups in our world affect us all, whether it’s divisive politics, war, famine, climate change, you name it —- the big bad things have a ripple effect.

There are too many uncertainties right now, and that’s got to be on the top of leaders minds (regardless of whether or not for personal reasons, better planning for all involved, or a combination of both).  In the wake of economic uncertainty, planners here are incorporating cut backs.  That means jobs and benefits are changing.  I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, just that whenever this type of change takes place it’s painful, especially when it’s in an environment that communicates differently from what many of us are accustomed to, or define as fair.  Then again when things like this happen at home, it rarely feels fair, regardless of how well (or poorly) communicated it was.

This year I’m saying good bye to more friends than expected.  Some resigned for their own reasons, some were asked to go.  It hurts and it’s stressful.  We’re all forced to contemplate whether or not we’re next, which again isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does suck in the short term. Now is a good time to remember my own financial goals and long-term planning:  the weekend trips and brunches may need to take a back seat to paying off my credit card balance (and then yay! they can resume again).

This year is ending on a much sadder note than last year.  I’ll come back in August to more unknowns, but I will figure them out one step at a time, just like my friends who are leaving are currently doing.  I’m amazed at how quickly they’ve gone from shock and despair to better horizons.  I will miss them all, but I also look forward to what they will do next in their lives.

I guess if there’s one thing for me to learn from this it is that as shitty as this whole “uncertainty” thing is it can push us to something better.  So, when I’m home this summer and people bring up politics (please don’t —- seriously I can’t cope with all the petty back biting on any side), terrorism, unpredictable weather, etc. I can remind myself that, yes, we can get past all of this —— just take it one step at a time.  Of course we have to first learn how to weigh all that’s happening, quit bitching/moaning/blaming others for it, and come up with a plan.  But, hey, one step at a time.  May we all heal and move on as quickly as my friends seem to be doing.