this is what the shutdown really looks like

Do you want to know what a government shutdown will look like?  It looks like this...

Because my husband works for the DOD, he faces an indefinite furlough from his job.  We've already weathered the furloughs related to the sequester, and those took a massive hit on us.  Now, we're facing either A) complete financial ruin due to a total loss of income or B) a complete upheaval of our entire lives.

If Thomas's office is closed indefinitely because of the shutdown, he will be looking for another job.  Because all of the jobs in the local area in his line of work are directly tied to RAFB, there would be nothing here for him.  He could look in the surrounding area, but then he'd have a costly commute and the chances that he won't be making as much as he is now, putting even more financial strain on us.  The more likely scenario would be that he would need to take a job outside the area, probably Atlanta.

We own our home and would have to sell it.  Houses in our neighborhood take a while to sell, and it would take some time to get the house ready to sell.  In that case, it looks like my husband would be living temporarily in Atlanta alone, without me and without our daughter.  She and I would remain here, trying to sell this house, our home, where we began our family--the only home Charlotte has ever known.  Until the time the house sells, we would be paying a mortgage and rent for a place for Thomas to stay, not to mention utilities for both locations.  Again, furthering the financial strain.

And for anyone who asks 'well Bria, why don't you go to work?', my answer is simple.  With my degree and education, I still would not be able to find a job that pays enough to cover the loss of Thomas's income.  Not even close.  (Even if we weren't in this situation, it makes more sense for me to stay home with Charlotte, since I'd likely only be making enough to cover daycare costs.)

So here we are, discussing how we'd market our home and how we would deal with being separated from each other and how we'd pay for two residences on an income similar to the one that pays for our single residence now.  The little money we had saved was used to help us recover from the sequester, so we have nothing left in reserves.

The worst part?  Our daughter would go days at a time without seeing her father.  As someone who was once in that position (my father lived in Warner Robins during the week and came home on weekends), I can attest to how difficult that is for a child.  I would miss my husband terribly, but the thought of my daughter missing him is heartbreaking to me.

I'm sure there are many, many other stories like ours and many, many that are worse.  We are grateful to have one another and to have some sort of options, but this is harder than anyone not in our shoes can possibly imagine for us.  I wish I had a way to tell our story to the politicians who are more concerned about political capital than about the security and stability of the American people.  Maybe then, they'd consider finding a middle ground that wouldn't cause anyone to have to make the decisions we are contemplating now.