Effective Dec. 31, he will be unemployed. Because he's been laid off, rather than fired, his severance package will provide him with the equivalent of an additional six months' worth of salary, taking him into the middle of 2009, by which point he expects to have another job.

And because my mom is still employed, and she chose a house with an affordable mortgage, she's already been covering the house payments with her salary alone, and she expects that she can continue to do so even if she winds up supporting both herself and my dad, as long as they live frugally.

So, I've heard the reassurances. It doesn't change the fact that my dad is in his early 60s, and has spent almost his entire life working in electrical engineering, which is an especially unforgiving career field for old men, even when businesses aren't conducting mass layoffs.

It also doesn't change the fact that I am employed, and my dad isn't, and that's the first time this has happened in ... well, ever. Every single time my dad was previously unemployed, I was still just a student. The last time he got laid off, I was in college.

There's something deeply weird about still going to work when your dad isn't.

No doubt. I hope he finds something he likes soon enough.

As for my own, the biggest difference I've seen since he stopped working is that he suddenly likes to talk on the phone when people call.

The main challenge will be seeing if the stock market rebounds before their life savings disappear.

Well, good luck to your dad. Being laid off is never fun (although there was a certian humour when Marconi laid me off - but that's another story...)


There's a lot to be said for this approach. We couldn't have afforded to have Cassandra if we had taken mortgages based on our combined incomes.



In the UK there are (at least, were - the Government is trying to change it) a lot of people who retired at this age (usual age for men is 65), or at least started to wind down for retirement.


I guess that if you are used to your dad being at work it would seem pretty strange. Since my father retired while I was at University (putting me on to a full grant, I might add...) it doesn't seem all that strange.

It is stranger to go to Mum's house knowing that Dad isn't going to be there.