letter to my husband's unemployer

This letter was written two weeks ago, at 3am, the morning after we heard the news.  It will not be sent, out of respect for my husband's concerns that it could complicate his situation and hinder positive references

Dear ___________,

I am so angry at you right now. You call yourself a humanitarian organization, your mission is all about the importance of educating children. Do you even care that you laid off my husband a month before Christmas? That he has kids in elementary school who may well have to be withdrawn when we are forced to move since we will no longer afford our rent?

We took this huge chance on you. We drove all the way across the country for him to take this job. We accepted the minimal compensation that didn’t even close to cover our moving expenses (which we are still paying off, with interest). We put up with his frequent travel over the first few months and resigned ourselves to the prospect of more in the future. We had to put medical bills on installment payments because the health insurance you provide is so poor. We’re not a family that spends lavishly. Our kids go to public school. We don’t expect fancy vacations, lots of new clothes, or the latest technology. We are more likely to go for a hike in the woods together on a weekend than go to the movies or eat out. Sure you could say we should have planned better, saved better, chosen a less expensive place to live. We were coming off of another lay-off, though, a year ago, and hoped that eventually we would catch up somehow and were crossing our fingers that it all would work out. We chose to live in the same city as your home office so that during the stretches that my husband wasn’t traveling, he would not spend all his spare time commuting.

I don’t expect this letter to make you hire him back or change anything for us but I want you to be more aware that you haven't just cut one salary from your budget, you've caused the total upheaval of a family of five. I am not so concerned at how this affects me or my belongings but it tears me up for how it could affect my kids, who may have to leave a school at which they’re thriving and a neighborhood full of friends, for an uncertain future.

I don't know how you prioritize how your funds are spent, but I hope that it was an excruciating decision for you to let people go. I honestly hope it haunts you for a long time.

Yours sincerely,

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