Lucky is not the right word...

I have called us Lucky... And to a degree that is true- we are lucky that the job Damon now has opened up. But I don't think luck is the operative word. We are thankful of course... However, this turn of events came from a long period of very hard work for very little pay.

I have watched Damon work HARD. Work long hours for crappy pay. Sometimes he loved the job, and when he did, it did not matter what he made because he was happy.

The good times came and went and as with every job before, he gave so much of himself that he was left feeling empty. He would sink his creativity, one of his most cherished gifts, into a project only to see it wiped aside as if it never mattered at all.

I feel like all he did for 3 years was work, come home and look for jobs, snuggle with us girls and go to sleep.

As many people who have worked in non-profit education or service style jobs know, you get used to having a different weekend from everyone else. Somehow, having that kind of schedule made people look at us differently. I am not sure if it was confusion or pity- But somehow, working non-standard days and/or hours marginalized Damon's job.

Like many men, he takes much of his identity from the job he is doing. And he would never speak a word about it, but I know it hurt him. I know it hurt to think that his efforts were not being recognized. Not by his superiors, not by his peers, even those outside of the physical work building did not understand.

He has earned this job. He has had a jump in salary as he as stepped from not-for-profit, to a profitable business. We knew he was being underpaid at union station. Now to finally be recognized- to be wanted, to have the type of "regular" job that most people respect... And to do it all in a way that has infused our family with a deeper sense of gratitude and stability than we have ever had is not luck. It is the reward for hard work and sleepless nights. For believing in himself and his talents when no one else did.

AMC is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Damon is the once in a lifetime perfect fit for AMC.

I think the person who grasped this best is my mother. When I said "Thank you AMC!" To which she remarked, "AMC should be thanking you."

So forgive me for saying Lucky. Instead let me say this:

I am thankful that I married someone with the ability to change his stars...