Was CHANGE an omen?

When I chose my word for the year, change, I really meant strictly personal reference to myself. Not to my family, by any means.

What a week.

Dennis, (My amazing husband for those that don't know...) works for a company called QuebecorWorld Inc. Midland.

On Monday, employees were notified that the company would be filing bankruptcy. I don't mean just my husband's plant, I mean the Canadian and American PLANTS. Dennis brought home a bunch of forms with information regarding the bankruptcy, that included FAQs and other mumbo jumbo.
The news hit the finance market across the world.

I can speak for my husband and our friends who also work there (including MY sister) by saying we were really shocked. This is not your small little printing business. They have plants and offices in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Finland, France, India, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom as well as the U.S. in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (This is us), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. They employ around 29,000 people.

Dennis and I talked into the early morning on Tuesday. The what ifs and what will we do's...And then both of us realized it doesn't matter. It is so far out of our control. Tuesday morning we called and requested a 401K update be mailed to us and watched the news and net for information.

The employees had originally been told it would NOT affect their paychecks. BY Wednesday that had changed. The company was awaiting an OK from the U.S. Courts that would allow the company to proceed with creditor protection. Until then the companies assets, including any money already allotted for pay was seized.

We live pretty much pay check to pay check. This was pretty frightening.

By late Wednesday evening word finally hit the news that approval had been granted.

Dennis did get paid today. As for the future. Only God knows.

I feel so bad for all the employees. Most people who work there have invested their adult working lives. Dennis has been there for 17 years. My sister 25. Some of our friends, 30, 31, 40 years.

Yes, there are the newbies, and the interns...but a majority of people have made this their life's work. And now they wait...like us...in limbo.

What do they print? Magazines, catalogs, books, a bit of everything depending on which plant. Cosmopolitan, Time, RubberStampMadness, Stamp & Scrap Artist, Sommerset Studio and all their special editions and publications, and they printed the Harry Potter Books.

I know something in me has changed. The "old" me would have been in emotional turmoil. But, in all honesty, I am calm. What will be will be. We could live off Dennis` 401K for about 6 months with no other income. But we both know if he didn't find a job with comparable pay (he currently makes over 20.00 and hour) we would have to sell our home. And that does make me incredibly sad. However, it is only a house. Our real home is where ever we are: together.

We do have great hopes after the restructuring the company will again raise to the economic giant it was and with very little employee loss.

Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.
~George Iles

That is what we choose to believe in right now.

*sighs*

On a brighter note, I have finished 2, that's right TWO, projects! Both crochet, a preemie blanket and a pair of booties. I have two nieces due to have babies in July and August!
Yay for me!

I think I might try Ali's Creative Weekend project, so cute!

Ok, off to try and sleep. Have I mentioned how much I detest sleeping alone???? I hate when Dennis works nights...

♥ Tam