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The week I lost my job and found out I was getting a $4,000 tax refund, still can't decide if it was the best or worst 7 days
Two weeks ago I got laid off on a Tuesday morning, walked out of the office in Austin with a cardboard box and a sad little plant, and by Friday I had a $4,000 refund hit my bank account from a tax mistake my old accountant fixed. So one side of me says it was the worst week because I had to tell my wife over dinner that my health insurance was gone and we had to cancel our trip to see her parents in Ohio that we had booked 5 months ago. The other side says it was weirdly the best week because that refund gave us a cushion I never would have had otherwise, and I got to spend 3 whole days with my kid while I sent out resumes. My buddy says I should just be grateful and move on, but my gut says it was a wash and I hate that I can't pick a lane. I sat on the porch that Sunday with a cold Shiner and honestly felt more confused than scared, which is a new one for me. So here is the debate I keep having with myself: was that week a disaster that happened to have one good thing in it, or a lucky break dressed up like bad news? If you have ever had a week where the good and the bad landed at the same time, which one did you end up remembering more?
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alexe759d ago
Man, that porch moment with the cold Shiner is the part that sticks with me, because sitting there more confused than scared tells you your brain hadn't filed that week under either label yet. So here's my real question: when you picture that Tuesday morning walking out with the plant, does your chest still tighten up, or has it started to fade into just a weird story you tell people? The reason I ask is that you keep calling it a wash like it's a math problem where the refund cancels out the layoff, but feelings don't really work like a balance sheet. For most folks I know, the stuff you remember years later isn't the money, it's whatever made you feel small or scared in the moment, and the good stuff fades faster even when it was bigger. So which part is still showing up when you're not trying to score the week?
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