Expecting the Axe Any Day

It's so hard to wait for official word that the furlough has begun. I had heard about the Great Depression from my grandmothers, but I never realized how scary it must have been, and how bleak things must have seemed. I have not been healthy enough to work full time. I have chronic migraines. So in spite of a graduate degree, my husband is the only real wage earner in our home. With his furlough coming, things seem bleak. Thank the Lord we have no mortgage, our house is paid for. We bought one that we could afford to cover with cash. We borrowed a tad bit from my mother, but the payments are low. Thank the Lord we don't face losing our house.

My husband has been having a hard week. He's been training with a grumpy old head who made my husband feel like he couldn't do anything right. Two weeks on commuter service caused my husband to get a little rusty on his radio work. He could copy track warrants okay, but releasing them was a different story. It seems that he included all the necessary information, and then some. They want him to say less during his transmissions. He found out yesterday that the grumpy old head is chronically ill, which could be contributing to his abrupt training style.

I credit my husband for sticking it out. Training with the railroad can be tough. You have to work with a lot of different people, and get along with them in close quarters. It's tough trying to figure out what each crew expects of you as a trainee, and just as you learn the ropes of one job you get sent to a different one.