You guys, I lost my job

Y'all, nothing I'm about to write is related to bicycling. There's your disclaimer. I won't blame you for clicking away now.

Earlier this month I got laid off, and I still can't believe it.

While I was assured multiple times that the action was in no way related to my work performance, and merely a company-wide measure taken because of a lack of revenue, it still hurt. No one likes to be dumped.

Our family took a major gamble when I accepted the job last summer. We sold our house and moved our son from a loving in-home child care provider to a preschool environment. Fortunately, Cody found a job he loves -- one that matters. He's proud of his work, and I'm so proud of him. The kid misses his first sitter and his first friend, but he eventually adjusted to his new friends and his new class, and is now thriving. Cody and I both grew up in the area so we get to see a lot more of our friends and family.

It all seemed like the perfect life for our little family.

But now that I've had time to sit back and reflect on my time working for my former employer, I've come to realize that I didn't love my old job as much as I expected. For sure, I miss the friends I made there -- those smart, fun hardworking people -- but the actual work was less enjoyable than I hoped. Plus, I was stressed out all the time, working the second shift and missed spending evenings with my dudes.

While I'm looking for a new job, I'm spending a lot more time with Cody and the little dude. Our house is much cleaner than it has ever been. I even found out that I'm a pretty good cook.

I'm also a lot happier.

Maybe this whole unexpected life change has been a good thing after all. Sure, we're on a tighter budget now, and it's really weird for me to be unemployed and I sometimes lose sleep worrying about it all.

But, you know what? That's okay.

We may be living with a little less income. But we're also living with a lot more joy. And that's really a small price to pay.