Tough Times

For several months now we have all watched and wondered what the future will present to us as a nation and as individuals faced with everday challenges. We now have a new president who has yet to prove himself to the nation and the impact for success or failure that he can make. Our financial institutions are failing, governmental agencies are crying for more funds, large businesses are saying we won't survive without govermental assistance and we, the individuals continue to wonder what is in store for us.

This past week has been a stressful week for me personally. Even before the Thanksgiving weekend, I knew that we would have to make changes in personnel at work and had made the necessary preparations to start the "triming back" after the holiday. Monday, needless to say came too quickly. Monday, I laid off two engineers with a reduction in force. Tuesday, one more engineer laid off with a reduction in force. That now accumulates to 4 engineers laid off in the last month. Tough times bring tough and uncomfortable decisions.

Everyday, the media is blasting us with the "bad news", more lay-offs, more business failures, and bigger deficits and downturn in the economy. How can anyone not ignore the obvious? I'm afraid that we are just seeing the start of something more large than we want to all imagine.

Just as we are faced to make the tough decisions with our business, we should all start making tough decisions in our personal lives, too. I hope that each of my family members will evaluate their needs and wants at this point in time and determine what they can do in their own families to prepare for a rough road ahead.

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" Let's all prepare ourselves, make the necessary adjustments and look for opportunities. Even in tough times there will be opportunities presented that will bless our lives and others.