The Ultimate Test in ... everything

My husband and I have been through bumps in life before. Big bumps. Life altering bumps, in fact. We've weathered them just fine, though while the bumps were actually happening, we'd collectively and individually wonder if we'd make it. But we did. So now we face a new bump... hurdle... whatever you want to call it -- hopefully, not "brick wall". ============================= Well, look at this. I was going to write about what we (my husband and I) are going through right now, but I can't. First, my husband is a private person and doesn't like it when I write about him on my blog. Second, my husband works for a Fortune 500 company and he REALLY doesn't like it if I mention anything about his work. Suffice to say, we are faced right now with a life-altering decision that may or may not be taken out of our hands and decided for us. Although it has come as quite a shock to us, it certainly could be worse. This could be a life-long dream realized, or it could be a financial nightmare. But it is nothing compared to people making little more than minimum wage, having small children to provide for, and getting laid off from their job. We, at least, have alternatives, retirement benefits, choices. More than ten percent of our country doesn't have that "cushion". But let me add this. We were not as financially prepared as we thought we were. Yes, we've been saving money for a long time. We've lived a fairly frugal life on a paycheck that offers others luxurious vacations or 2nd homes. But when the offer of retirement actually knocked on the door? We realized we weren't ready. We have five more years on our mortage, and a small 2nd mortage to boot. We have two new cars in the garage with 3 and 4 more years of payments due. We enjoy our High Def TV's and our high speed internet and our cell phones (all of which I actually could give up if need be). And oh yes, we lost 9/10ths of our retirement savings investments when the stocks plummeted last year, of which we have regained only a small portion. That is definitely an OUCH factor. So I'm here but I'm not here. My mind is racing with what my part (as the not-employed spouse) in all this is. Whatever my husband's decision, I will support him. I will go back to work parttime or fulltime or whatever he needs from me. Although he includes me in the decision process, I know the decision is his alone. I will back him in whatever decision he makes. I know he will keep me and the family uppermost in his mind during the decision process, because that's the man he is. But think good thoughts for us. It's a tough time and an unsure outcome. We've weathered worse, and we will weather this - together.