So my mom is unemployed, the recession hits home.

UPDATE 3/17/09: One of my good friends Chris, just got hit. He was laid off from a local start-up as of April 30th.

I have been fortunate enough for the past 8 years to work for one of the finest companies on the planet. A company I respect and love. It has been and continues to be a thrill to work there. One of the benefits of working for one of the biggest and most innovative companies in the world has been stability through innovation, strategy and growth. When I started with the company we were in a recession, albeit a much less severe one than we face today. The company announced boldly that we would innovate through the recession. We did and beyond.

Today the location that I work for is still very busy, the company itself continues to innovate and grow and I continue to count myself fortunate to be among the employees responsible for that success and growth. One of the interesting personal observations that I have had working for a continuously prosperous company as been that the doom and gloom of the recession as seemingly seemed like something that is happening over there. To someone else. The news was full of the doom and gloom. But its hard to work daily in a very busy environment, seeing people spend money, seeing success and growth and hearing how bad it is.

A few friends of mine began to get hit. My very good friend Ronald J. Robertson was first hit and is still looking. Kevin M. got laid off, but quickly found work again. Ben M. a friend of a friend lost his. I was sad for those cats. But it still doesn't seem real or close.

Today my mom emailed me with the subject "Unemployed". Now, my mom is a travel agent and my brother works for Ford, so I was always kind of waiting for the shoe to drop so to speak. Those two industries have been in turmoil for awhile, but they have both been thankfully working. Until now. So my mom had been on a furlough of sorts. January and February she was told she would not be working. I assume some downtime until things picked up. She had planned to return in March, but I guess thats not the case. So now my mom joins the ranks of the unemployed. I am sad for her. With a specific skill set and an advance age I wonder if she'll work again. If she wants to work again. Or if this is the start of forced retirement for her.

So the recession has finally claimed someone close and understand it now. It focuses me. I plan and hope to continue gainful employment with my company. I hope they they continue to grow and be successful and I plan to shortly celebrate my longest tenure with any company I've ever worked for soon. And hopefully in many years to retire from there.

To those looking for work, good luck. My prayers and thoughts are with you. To those worrying about losing your job, the same to you. Hope and perseverance are gifts we all can rely on.