Ugh

Bad news comes in three's, right? If so, then hopefully that means I won't get any more for a long time. I'm fine and the baby is fine. Fortunately, none of the bad news has anything to do with the pregnancy. Aside from that, this week has been a triple-whammy...

Actually, it started last Friday/Saturday. We had driven my new car to Indiana to visit my aunt and uncle. I drove it in to work Friday morning, Paul took a train downtown to meet me that afternoon, and we hit the road. It was dark when we got to their house and unloaded our stuff, so we didn't see it until Saturday morning. Someone had hit my car. In the garage at work on Friday. Someone freaking hit my brand new car (the ONLY brand new car I've ever owned, mind you) less than a week after we signed the forms to buy it. And obviously, they didn't bother to leave a note. Ugh. And unfortunately, we will have to get it fixed sooner rather than later because the dealership can't apply the inside/outside sealant/protectant stuff (that we already purchased as part of a package deal) until the scratches are removed and the bumper re-painted. Plus winter is coming, which means snow, which means nasty road salt that could further damage the paint in this condition (hence why we purchased the sealant package). Ugh. So this week has been spent filing a police report and trying to get an estimate on the damage so we can figure out whether or not it is worth filing an insurance claim for it. If it is less than our deductible (which it probably will be) then we won't bother with the claim. But even if it is over, we'll still have to pay the deductible. So either way, that's probably going to have to go on a credit card. Ugh.

Then we got bad news about Paul's contract at work. It's been in negotiations for most of this year and they still haven't reached a deal, but we had been told they were getting close. There was a big meeting last Thursday between the two sides and it was supposed to be the final review and then everyone was going to sign off on it. Paul had gotten a shift trade for the day after the meeting so we could head to Indiana, so he didn't find out until Monday this week, but apparently the meeting was a disaster and nothing got finalized or signed. And now, because that was the last round of attempted negotiations, it has to go to an arbitrator. Ugh. Thankfully, none of this means that he is going to be out a job or anything like that. The problem, however, is that he still hasn't gotten the raise that he was supposed to get back in June when the previous contract's term expired. We've been doing fine without it, but the hope had been for the raise to go into effect (along with retro-pay for the months since June) by the end of this year. You know, before I go on leave for 12 weeks (half of which will be unpaid). And since the whole buying-a-new-car thing happened unexpectedly, we were really going to be counting on that to help out with some other expenses (such as repairing the roof), not to mention Christmas and baby stuff. We'll be okay, and I'm sure we'll figure out ways to make things work without it. But it's just bad timing and it worries me to not have much set aside for whatever the next emergency might be. I hate money stuff. Ugh.

But the worst news of all has to be the news we got yesterday about my father-in-law. Apparently, he was told this week, out of nowhere, that his job is ending effect December 31. They are 'eliminating' his position due to 'budget cuts.' My FIL has worked for the same place for nearly 50 years. I'm not even kidding when I say that he pretty much IS that place. He knows everything about it and has helped build it over the years. And the real kicker is he probably would have been retiring maybe as soon as next year. In fact, he might already have retired if it weren't for the economy. But no, they aren't even giving him the chance to do that. They just swooped in and blindsided him with this nonsense about budget cuts. They wouldn't even be making a profit there if it weren't for him!!! Ugh. So now, my FIL is angry and depressed (understandably) and my MIL is freaking out (to say the least) and no one knows what's going to happen next. Meanwhile, my poor husband is trying to figure out what to say to his dad (I mean really, what do you say to that?) and also having to deal with calming his mom down (she pretty much turns into a basket case in any kind of crisis situation). His sister isn't really on speaking terms with the family right now, and even if she were, she's in a whole mess of trouble herself and is quite a big younger, so she really wouldn't be much help. Ugh.

So today, my MIL called Paul and asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving. Well, we're going down to spend the holiday with my family since it will be the last time I'm allowed to travel and won't get to see any of them at Christmas. This has been the plan for months now, and we've told her this several times, and up until recently she and my FIL were supposed to be going on a road trip and were going to be gone over Thanksgiving anyway. But now she wants to do Thanksgiving with us because she thinks it will cheer my FIL up (which I understand... to an extent) but of course she doesn't remember that we've already discussed the plans several times. Nor does she remember that we've pointed out (also several times) that we're going to spend all of Christmas with them and some of Paul's extended family that live close by. Instead, Paul has to be the bad guy and remind her that we're going out of town for Thanksgiving. So now it looks like we're somehow ditching them in the midst of this crisis with my FIL's job and leaving them to sit at home and be sad and lonely. Ugh. Paul insists that she didn't seem mad when he reminded her of our plans, but I'm skeptical. She tends to get kind of crabby about this stuff. In fact, a couple of years ago she accused us of never spending a holiday with them and always choosing my family over them. Nevermind that we had just spent the previous Thanksgiving with them AND were planning to leave my family's Christmas day get together before dinner to drive back and see them Christmas evening that year.

Ugh. I feel terrible about my FIL and that whole situation. But I'm also dreading the family drama that will likely now ensue. I just don't have the energy for this. This is supposed to be a happy, joyous time. The holidays are approaching, we're having a baby soon. These are happy things! I don't want to be distracted from that with drama and guilt trips and money stress and more drama. Is that a reasonable thing to want? Ugh.

Sorry for writing such a negative post. I just needed to get this all out somewhere that it won't hurt anyone. I don't want to re-hash it all with Paul again. I can rant to my mom about most of it, but my parents have their own money issues to worry about and I feel weird complaining to her about my MIL. B is out of town right now and I feel ridiculous telling people at work about this stuff when many of them don't even own cars and/or aren't married. Besides which, work is busy and stressful enough on its own and I need to just concentrate on getting stuff done there. So here I come to rant and rave and whine and complain. And now I'm starting to get on my own nerves, so it is time to stop. Ugh. That is all...