Friday

You knew I couldn't stay away too long, didn't you?
It has been a heck of a week, punctuated by, what my MIL calls, a kick in the teeth.
I worked hard at the office in preparation for a major event next week, my boss made it to London and back and mentioned that they'd love to see me in the UK office (note to Alice!) and I went and saw my pal Jen make an appearance at a big bookstore.

Next week, I'll accompany co-workers to a two-day industry show kind of thing, be on my feet all day and, hopefully, manage the boss's time efficiently.
We await the arrival of the London staff and are hoping for ash abatement.

Jen's appearance? Well, let me tell you - I am lucky enough to be around Jen whenever I can (though it often involves air travel). If you are lucky enough to be able to see her at your local bookstore, I highly recommend it.
She is tremendously entertaining and her fans, her loyal, lovely, wonderful fans, are treated to fresh Jen. Live Jen. Hysterically funny Jen.
Have I mentioned (less than five or six times) that Chapter Four of My Fair Lazy covers her visit here, to MY HOUSE, a couple of summers ago? I've never been in a book before and blush and smile and couldn't be more tickled by this. You really need to pick it up and read it while I work on cleaning up my language (apparently I curse A LOT).
After the reading I had drinks with her and some of her peeps and publishing staff and then dashed off to the 11:19. What a night!
(As an aside, I need to tell you that a fellow in her audience mistook me for Anna Wintour. And no, he wasn't drunk.) Between being completely starstruck, chuffed over the new book and a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio, it was memorable to say the least.

Oh, and, the kick in the teeth?
K was laid off from his job on Tuesday.
This bad thing was shocking, yes, but I was not surprised. The great guy who brought him into the company was let go a month after K arrived. Their big plans were doomed only four weeks after K was made a staff member and, frankly, I was surprised they kept K as long as they did. Business losses and layoffs all around slowly spelled doom (I guess) for K's position and he was told that he was "a luxury the company could no longer afford."
It's strange, but I just seem to not have the energy to have a breakdown about this.
I am working.
My position is secure.
We are all healthy and happy.
We have each other and we will be fine. I don't know when, exactly, but I have faith that K will move on to something else...perhaps even something that is a more comfortable fit.
He's hit the ground running and I've realized that all those years that he was free-lance (and he will probably be free-lance for a while now too) had many benefits.
I've learned that you can lose a staff position. I've lived in fear of him losing his job and it has happened. It happened a few years ago and we survived. I feel like we will again.
My confidence probably stems from the fact that I am not sitting at home fretting. I'm working and loving it.
This, of course, does not mean that I wouldn't gladly accept your support/prayers/thoughts while we weather this storm.
But this time I'm not sitting wringing my hands and crying.

I do so appreciate my community here.
It wasn't easy to form my thoughts and post them.
And, as always,
I thank you...

all 331 of you who clicked over here to see what I was up to yesterday.