a bit sticky

vintage typewriter, from my mother's collection

My sister called earlier this week with news: she's been half-laid off, meaning that she'll only work 20 hours each week starting next Monday, and her salary, of course, will likewise be cut in half. She knows she's much luckier than so many others, including several people from the same office who were laid off completely, but it's still a worry. For one thing, my sister is one of those people who tends to live outside her means, so she's got some extra bills that need to be paid off in addition to her mortgage and regular household expenses. I expect she'll need to cut back in many aspects of her life but I'm not sure she's ready to admit to quite how much yet (I know she wouldn't want to hear it from me, anyway). For now I can only help her clean and refurnish one of her bedrooms so that she might take in a lodger.

Which means that we'll be lending her one of the twin beds and perhaps a small dresser (luckily, we still have those to spare); it also means she'll be storing a few more boxes here again (probably the same boxes I finally got her to take home with her last Christmas, plus some extras). I don't mind that part at all, considering the circumstances, but the news in general did catch me off guard. It makes me think about how quickly things can change, for better or worse.