The Unexpected Opportunity

A funny thing happened to me at work one day: I got laid off.  It wasn't anything personal, it was a business decision.  Lots of people got laid off the same day:  people I had worked with for my eight years there and people who had been there 20 years, and people who had just been hired.  It was an equal opportunity lay off.

It is of particular interest to me that I thought my job was safe.  I'm an RN with over 30 years experience.  I mean, nurses can always work right?  Another particularly interesting issue is the fact that I work, I mean worked, for a hospice.  Being a Baby Boomer, I happen to know there is an unending supply of candidates for hospice.  So why would there be a lay off?  Life is not simple, nor is medical care these days.  No, The Affordable Health Care Act had nothing to do with it.  The high cost of delivering high quality health care that no one else can deliver is the issue.  Although I suspect or maybe hope, the industry will catch up someday, that day is not today.

So where does the laughing come in?  If you knew me, you would know.  I happen to think that even the most serious situation could use a little laugh in there somewhere.  This was not a conscious choice, it was a pattern I followed starting many many years ago as a young nurse; pointing out the absurdities of situations, stating the obvious that everyone else was too polite to mention and of course the well timed one liner.  Nothing like a laugh to give the old endorphins a boost.  I didn't set out to do these things, I have impulse control issues.  Once a thought pops into my head, it usually pops out of my mouth.  Sometimes this is a curse, and sometimes it's a blessing.

So in my days of shock after the lay off notice, I was trying to figure out what my next move, my next job, my next reincarnation would be.  I don't know yet, but why don't you come along for the ride?  You never know what I may say next.