Last Thursday I watched him sleep, sprawled on his back with the duvet to his chest. One arm on my leg, the other across his torso.

His face, for the first time in months, did not look pained. There was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. The lines around his eyes were relaxed. The brows were not the least bit furrowed.

The face of a man with one giant weight off his shoulders.

Eric got this. We got this.

It took almost four months, but it was worth the wait: This job is cool. The retina scans! The weigh-ins! The cards! The printing of money!

It was ironic, really, a la Alanis Morisette. Wednesday night we were almost helpless with worry with the approaching fall, my last pay cheques, the government dollars that wouldn’t cover a mortgage payment. Was it finally time to cut off the cable? Drop our cell phones? Pull a car off the road? Take Lucy out of daycare next month?

We had savings and RRSP money we could have used. Eric is a planner. But we just launched a business and bought a new house, have a baby on the way and possibly a sick dog. Who can control the timing of these things? You can’t.

We were never on the verge of losing anything (except our minds, with worry and wait), not yet, and our beyond-generous family were prepared to do almost anything in their control to prevent that. But please, be smart with your money. Do you have enough to live on for three months? Six?

You think things like this always happen To Other People. But they don’t. So many of you emailed with stories of friends and family and neighbours also looking for work. It’s scary when not only your financial stability, but a large part of how you define yourself, is snatched away with absolutely no warning.

Thank you, all of you, for the support these past months. You passed along Eric’s resume, emailed job posts, sent us websites and contacts. Or just checked in on us with a note. I hardly know many of you, and still the generosity poured it. My family appreciates it more than I am capable of saying.

Possibly related posts:

1. Where you be?
2. How we survived the great rush hour ride, AKA Crack n’ snacks
3. Not letting myself go (but…toys!)
4. No flipping
5. A list of life