Our Fragile Existence

We are reminded on a regular basis just how fragile our hold on this plane of existence really is. Lives, futures, so many of the things that we take for granted can be turned upside down in a blink of an eye.

My Life the last 4 1/2 years has been proof of this. It began with my Husband's untimely job lay-off. Our income was cut in half - an amount which may not seem like much to some people but when a person is already living on a shoestring, a thinner shoestring can make a huge difference. We staved off hunger and kept our heads above water. We managed. We adapted. 

Then came the opportunity for my Hubby to attend college to get a degree in what we thought would be a good career. Little did we know that the degree he received wasn't 'enough of a degree' to earn anything but minimum wage. Frustrating to say the least.

Our daughter has had her own share of lessons about how fragile Life can be. First her Husband, an ironworker, fell two stories while working on a building. He lived but the damage to his body was severe and he spent the next couple years in and out of operating rooms and physical therapy. And then just when there was almost light at the end of the tunnel, her husband was arrested (and extradited) for a crime that took place decades before. My daughter, 5 months pregnant at the time, was now faced with packing up and moving her household across country as well as being the support system for her three small children. Fortunately for her, family was able to help with the move. She and the kids went to live with her older brother, only to be kicked out of their house by a controlling sister-in-law six months later. Hubby and I were living back in Colorado by then, so she and the kids came to live with us. We tried to provide them with a loving, stable environment. Especially through the court drama and later turmoil of her husband's death. So much angst for a young family to go through. 

While all of this was transpiring, Hubby and I were dealing with our own worries - a house in Arkansas that sat on the market for a year and a half before it sold, mounting bills, a job market that discriminates against age and lack of education. But we managed. We bounced back. We adapted. 
We all adjusted to living with each other. It wasn't easy at times - I know the kids sometimes got tired of living with two cranky old people. And well, the two cranky old people had to adjust to Life with small children. But our Lives were full and filled with love.  
And then things began to change. For the better. We all thought that Life was beginning to look up.

But the Trickster wasn't finished with us yet.