Trade-offs

Erich has to go to Mexico tomorrow. My first inclination is to really whine about this trip. It was originally scheduled for a few weeks ago, at a time when his company's offices in Brazil and Spain couldn't cover it like they usually do. Even though it ended up being delayed, somehow Erich stayed stuck with the responsibility of going down there.

He has school work to do. Thanksgiving is next week. So, how irritating that he has to take a four-hour flight to Mexico City and drive an additional four hours, just so he can be present while some substation undergoes some testing. They would prefer he stays the whole week, but there's no way he's missing Thanksgiving. Therefore, his flight home lands at 12:20 Thursday morning. I argue: Brazil and Spain don't even have Thanksgiving! So why is Erich stuck with this job?

As annoyed as I was about this trip, I, luckily, quickly grew up and realized how incredibly blessed we are. I keep hearing more and more about people being laid off. I think about people with lots of investments who have lost a lot of money, and I particularly worry about those near retirement age, who don't have time to wait for the market to take an upturn.

Erich's office is too small to have 401k benefits and the bulk of our savings is in regular savings accounts, so we haven't lost much money recently. And Erich is an electrical engineer who specializes in power. His job will pretty much never be out of demand. And if his company wants him to be down in Mexico, even if someone else could do it, he must be reasonably competent and important.

I'm so proud of my husband, and I hope I never forget to count our blessings. Enjoy that warm weather, Erich!