The Worst Birthday Ever

Jason had a birthday last week, and by the end of the day we both declared with 100% confidence that it was the worst birthday either of us had ever had.

About two years ago we started hearing talk of Jason's company Dow merging with Pioneer.  We've spent the last year contemplating and preparing for the potential of having to move, getting laid off, getting demoted, getting stuck in a horrible job... but never knowing exactly when the fate would befall us.

Enter Jason's birthday.

There had been plenty of reassurance about Jason's position in the new company (he is quite amazing at what he does, after all), but the facts were all laid bare on his birthday.

So instead of celebrating by taking the day off and doing all of the fun things I had planned, he headed to work to find out what would become of the program he has spent the last five years developing.

And I sat at home, waiting for updates.

The first one came quickly-  "They're closing the site."

And the next one not long after-  "They're calling everyone in one by one.  People are getting fired."

And then- "I'm going to be the corn breeder at Dallas Center."  (Exactly what we were expecting, and more on that later.)

"They're done talking to everyone."  Five people out of thirteen were fired and were sent home, 20 days before Christmas.

Needless to say, it was a very somber birthday.

But still, birthdays aren't just about the realities about grown up life, they're about celebrating the ones we love.  So we celebrated.  We went out to dinner with the kids and enjoyed Leah's first 5th grade band concert and had ice cream and the ugliest cherry chocolate cake ever, which Jason called a perfect representation of the day. 

All the while the phone calls and emails kept coming with news from other stations throughout the company.  When the dust finally settled a few days later, we realized that Jason is one of two breeders in the company that was not fired/told to move/severely alter his commute.  Miraculously, the changes in Jason's job will not affect our family at all. 

He still has all of the same benefits (we were half-expecting him to lose his company car, but most likely not the phone, computers, credit cards, or retirement package in the merger.  He kept it all.) and we are still on the same original promotion track as before. 

He literally heads west and drives 32 minutes now instead of the 29 minutes north that he has driven for the last four years.

As the shock of the news from his coworkers wore off, we were really able to see how blessed we have been.  The first thing Jason's boss's boss said to him when they sat down together was, "Well, I don't know who you've impressed, but you were at the top of the list of people to keep happy in the merger."  And that feels good.  Jason is really good at what he does, and it's nice to be noticed (and not fired!) for it. 

We've been holding our breath and our pennies for the last two years as we've been waiting for this day to come, and now that it's come and gone, we have a new chapter of life to look forward to.  So we celebrated.  We paid off our car and knocked out another student loan.  We continued the conversation of what if Iowa is actually home for good?  That was not the plan when we moved here, but that is definitely becoming the reality.  And for now, we couldn't be happier about it.

So happy birthday to Jason, who didn't get fired!  He's so resilient and hardworking and quite likable.  He's optimistic and energetic and incredibly smart, and he takes care of our family in ways that we used to only dream about.

The kids love fun and games Daddy.  He makes everything better, from racing to put laundry away to steamroller across the living room floor.  Their favorite part of Daddy's birthday is helping him solve the clues about where I hid his presents.

It was not a birthday we'll soon forget, that's for sure, but it's definitely one we're glad to have behind us!