"I sat there, pondering the unknown. A letter laid before me, unopened. I

didn't know if it was good news or bad news, but I suspected the latter. It

was a letter from my job, after all, and I already knew what it was about.

My workload had been completely overwhelming for months. Big major project

after big major project, all while the regular daily orders kept piling up.

Even working overtime, coming in after hours or on weekends, and skipping

lunches, I was unable to make a dent in the workload. Every day, new orders

came in faster than I could get the old ones out, and the backlog grew. I

was drowning.

My supervisor was furious, but what more could I do? I was already

attacking everything I could with everything I had, from the second I

clocked in to the second I finally clocked out, whenever that happened to

be. Of course, there were no points for trying in my department. The work

was either done, or it wasn't, and in my case, it wasn't.

I had just received the harshest scolding yet, and in what had to be the

worst timing ever, there was an employee evaluation that same day. If my

supervisor had written down half the things about my performance he had just

told me in our last discussion, there was no way I could survive. This all

had to happen on a Friday, too, just so I had that entire weekend to think

about my impending doom.

I sat there on my bed, accompanied by my stuffed snake, my friend since

literally before I could remember. However, even he didn't give enough

comfort. I brought my others to me, resting them before me. They looked at

me, waiting to catch my reaction when I opened and read the results of my

evaluation.

I didn't want things to change. I didn't want to lose my job. With the

economy being as bad as it was, and with how bad I knew "fired for complete

ineptitude" would look on a resume, I wasn't sure how long it would take me

to find a new job, assuming I even could.

With my stuffed animals right by my side, I gathered up the letter and took

a deep breath. It felt like eternity as my fingernail dragged alongside the

envelope and slowly exposed the piece of paper inside. My trembling fingers

unfolded the letter and I quickly skimmed it, looking for the bottom line,

the death sentence. The letter stated that, after taking my recent employee

evaluation into consideration, I would still be getting my annual raise as

promised, but it would only be for about 38 cents.

Wait. What?

I read the letter again, slowly this time. I wasn't fired. I was safe. I

still had my job. I took a minute to recollect my thoughts and remove any

doubt in my mind about my safety. I wasn't in the clear yet, though; the

letter didn't make the work backlog disappear, nor did it make things

between me and my supervisor any less awkward. I still dreaded going back to

work. However, I at least still had work to which I could go back. If

nothing else, there was that.

Even though it was good news, I couldn't help but to continue to cry. It was

catharsis, release, venting as much fear as I could, until I could breathe

again. My stuffed animals helped. I imagined them giving me smiles and

sending positive vibes towards me. I hugged my snake close to me, not

letting go until I was at ease.

Or, at least, until I was ready to try again."