Follow up to yesterday's post

For all of those wondering besides Jessica, yes, C did get that call yesterday and has an interview tomorrow :)

He's happy to have the opportunity, although he is a bit apprehensive. It seems like there are other internal candidates and the schedule is not so great either. I told him that they could be using the "other candidates" schpiel to keep everyone emotionally detached and not get anyone's hopes up--this is applicable on both sides. The schedule is actually worse than it was when he first started working for this company. Back then, he worked 2 late nights and all day on Saturday, with days off being Sunday and Monday. He finally did get Saturday and Sunday off, but it took awhile and other people had to leave first.

This new position would have THREE late nights, but his days off would be Friday and Saturday. He wouldn't have to be into work until 1 PM on Sunday, so it wouldn't affect church--MUCH*. It's much easier for me to take off a Friday than it was a Monday, so if we wanted to spend more time together that would be easier than previously.

I told C that if he received an offer, that taking the job was up to him--just because they wanted him, didn't mean he had to take it. He could wait it out and keep applying. I felt like I pressured him to take his last job, as it was only his second offer in 16 months. I was getting nervous about not having enough money, what if he never found ANYTHING, etc. That job caused him grief in his first or second week, when he got into two car accidents in as many days. Both weren't his fault, but they seriously made him rethink the job!

C feels a lot of internal pressure to take the job. Mostly because our state just laid off 70% of the division that oversaw C's previous facility, which means an already small job pool would dry up. The other facility is under a different state division, which is much more secure. Working at this facility would be a great stepping stone for him, as he has always wanted to work in this particular division. He'd get more exposure to the policies and procedures, as well as getting to know various staff within the department. Other good things about this job: he'd be at the same company, same upper level management, same good benefits, etc. On the other hand, he'd still have a 25-30 mile commute and the wear and tear on the car would continue. Not to mention gas. There wouldn't be much pay increase, either, but that's non-profit work for you.

There isn't much we can do. All C can do is go to the interview, do his best, see what happens, and pray that it goes well and ask if this is in The Plan for us. All I can do is help him to prepare for the interview (mostly ironing his clothes!), not bother him the morning of the interview (he gets nervous) and also pray that it goes well and ask if this is in The Plan for us. That's it. Of course, we'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers as well! :-)

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*Our church is 1/2 hour away from our house, and about midpoint between the new job and home. He mentioned to one of the potential bosses that he attends church close by, that it would not be convenient to have to go back and forth, would it be possible to work 11-7 on Sundays instead of 1-9? She didn't see why that would be a problem and could be considered. But that leaves us having to take two cars, since I'd need to get home. We already drive a LOT for work (my commute is about the same as C's), so taking two cars to church seems ridiculous. There's no public transportation to work or church and no carpooling availability. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess. Someone suggested to me last night that I could go to a different church on Sunday, a closer one, but that's not really something I want to do. Byzantines are dying out. I like worshiping as a family, even if I'm in the choir & C's on the altar. I honestly get more out of Liturgy than I did ANY Roman Mass.

I don't like when I don't have control over something that should be easy to remedy. How much should you sacrifice? In other countries, people are persecuted for their religious beliefs. I can go anywhere I want, I could even worship my mailbox if I believed in it as a deity, and I couldn't be arrested or tortured. And yet, here I am, getting huffy because we might have to do things differently to get to church. Should I offer it up as a sacrifice? Do I lower our weekly contribution in that case? I'm already singing in the choir and C is an altar server--both started around the time he got laid off, so I did lower our weekly contribution a bit, only because I believe that contributing to a church isn't just giving your treasure (money). It's also giving your time and talent. I don't think the extra car would make THAT much of a dent in our finances or make our cars die out that much sooner, but it does and will add up. It's the impracticality of it that bothers me the most, I think!

And sadly, no, this parish doesn't offer a Saturday night Liturgy. If it did, that would solve everything! But we are too small to have more than one Liturgy, and the older people would complain because of driving in the dark. This possible situation involving when and where we attend Liturgy just feels like one more punishment or annoyance that Byzantine Catholics deal with in a country that is so Roman-focused or doesn't do church at all. C often jokes that he's had a lot of suffering in his life (losing his mom suddenly and at a young age, the accident/recovery hell, being laid off twice in four years) that religion shouldn't be so hard.

I guess we shall wait and see.