Breathing

Breathing.

It's underrated. Seriously. You do your daily routine, whether things are good or bad. You keep it up, working, living, eating, and moving, no matter what. However, when there are financial (or other) things going on, you're not quite breathing.

For 2 1/2 years, Kevin's been fighting a battle with his employer. He's been hurt twice by this place, who insists on sending 1 guy out to do the work of 3. Surgery fixed it, and it got torn up again. I still don't know what I can say, legally, so I'll be vague. If you want details, email me. I'm an open book, as you know.

Anyway, as of yesterday, the case is settled. Kevin was off work for 6 months on medical leave. Partial pay, and we limped by, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. It was getting worse and worse, but we kept limping along. Not breathing.

They called him back in late December. They suddenly had work that he COULD do with physical restrictions (even though they didn't earlier in the year.) It was time for inventory, so they probably wanted him for that, but who knows?

We were told that they were close to offering a settlement. OK, we've heard that before, so we still weren't breathing. It got delayed another few times. Whatever. We're used to it by now.

Finally, a decent offer was made, assuming that Kevin would terminate his employment. (yeah, I'm probably saying it all, so why bother with the disclaimer?) He agreed, and the wheels started turning again. Slowly. Finally, all parties agreed. Still not breathing.

The next Monday, Kevin got to work and saw a sign on the door saying that the store was closing. What? Yeah, they were closing and moving all inventory to Lenexa, KS. He helped them finish up, and by Wednesday of that same week, that store no longer existed.

What does that mean? That means that he didn't quit. That means that he is eligible for unemployment. Sweet! Unemployment isn't much money, but it is WAY more than $0.00. So we had breathing room.

Back to yesterday. The case is closed. The deal is done. The lawyer has his cut, and the rest is in our bank. It would be fun to blow it all on fun stuff, but we can't. The mortgage is caught up, so my house is still mine (it was sketchy for a while.) My student loan is paid off. Bills that we've been begging time on are gone. I'm starting to breathe.

Mom and Dad paid the down payment for us to buy this house, and we've been paying them a set amount each month. They've been so gracious if we're struggling, need a week, etc. It's awesome. Without them, I wouldn't have my house. They are paid.in.full. Thanks, Mom and Dad. I'm starting to breathe.

Other people have helped, too. Thanks to everyone, and I'm very happy that we can breath again. It's all good. I'm happy, and we're fine.

Now, to find him a job...Breathe in, breathe out.