April Showers...

April is not usually a turbulent time. Spring always brought warmer weather, cleansing rain, and the promise of summer to get me through classes or just out of the winter doldrums. This April has brought showers, not of rain, but of change.

April 1st marked severe layoffs in my company. The company has been cutting back across several departments for about six months now, but this was the first time it affected my department. Nearly one half of our staff had been let go, including my friend of twelve years and many other wonderful people who have become like another family to me over the last two and a half years. The office is now quiet, and empty seats out-number filled ones. Those of us still there now share mixed feelings of relief and guilt that our friends and colleagues are gone while we remain.

The following Saturday, Lynn and I moved to our new apartment in Brooklyn. The move was surprisingly easy, and the moving company we hired was fantastic. A few friends came over on Saturday and helped out unpacking boxes, and by Sunday evening the place already looked like we'd been there for some time. Almost a week later, we have almost no boxes left, and are now hanging up pictures and re-arranging the rooms to make our home.

We've been able to explore the neighborhood a little, but this weekend we hope to spend some quality time learning about our new environs.