Got my hopes up... dang.

I've got a bad habit of getting too excited about something, or expecting something that's not really going to happen. This then leads to me getting my hopes up. Depending on the situation, I'm either upset, annoyed, or just kind of 'whatever' about it. But this time... it was kind of a big deal to me.

My manager was going to be moving up in the ranks, from her current position of just manager to an operations manager, over seeing many other managers and stores and employees. And naturally, I was going to be the one replacing her. Now, this was only going to be temporary, maybe. It was all up in the air. The operations manager she would be filling in for is out on medical leave. And with me "taking her place", I would be, but wouldn't be at the same time. I would have all the responsibilities of her job title and run the department; but, since it's only temporary, they couldn't technically call me a 'manager'. Anyways...

With this "temporary promotion", I was promised a $1.00 raise. Nothing to jump up and down about, but enough to smile about and feel like a tiny weight is lifted off my shoulders. Hey, a $1 more an hour translates into a couple bills getting paid, which means there might be more to put in savings. Every little bit helps, and God knows Justin and I relish every little bit.

Of course I told him right away about this lovely raise. And of course he was almost as excited as myself. We both were already looking ahead in our financial future. After all, him being at this new job is already going to be super for us. But both of us making more money? Jackpot! Maybe we'd actually be able to take a vacation in the next 10 years, maybe 15?

But those dreams are not put on hold. At work today, my manager gets a call... and as I'm standing there listening in (sorta), I can already tell it isn't pretty. I knew before she told me. 'I'm not going to need to fill in for M (the current ops manager). They're postponing her surgery, and she's going to come back to work. They'll let me know what's going on in a week.' Automatically, I was SO bummed. This meant she wasn't leaving. So, I wasn't getting "promoted". No promotion = no raise. Great. JUST GREAT. I guess it happens...

Hopefully M will be okay and fight through her illness and whatever else is going on. Please pray for her, because it involves her brain and is pretty serious.

But aside from that... maybe one day I'll get the opportunity again. Or just find a new, better paying job. Either one.

Oh, and a little side note. Yesterday I got some wonderful news. Nothing related to work. More so related to school. Basically, some professors still have hearts and actually care about their students. I got a lovely, second-chance phone call that made me smile. I'll never be able to thank him enough. SUCH a lifesaver.

So the past two days have been bittersweet. And to top it all off, on the sweet side, Justin hit the 40 hour mark yesterday. So everything he makes today is overtime. To us, this is amazing news. Now THAT makes me smile. (& there's nothing sexier than my honey man walking in the door, all sweaty and dirty, with jeans that have some holes and worn-out boots. He works hard for us, and I LOVE him for it. If he didn't smell and dirt wasn't caked onto him, I'd attack him as soon as he walked in the door ;-))