The Hag is Not Dead

But you all thought she was, didn't you. Fess up now. Oh, you've all given up (all two of you) and gone away. Them's the breaks.

So what has the Hag been doing? Well ... having a nervous breakdown, actually. Seriously. The Hag does not recommend it. Work stress broke her down, and she had to go back into therapy and take serious meds. That was October and November and December. Between the pharmaceuticals and the blabbing things started to clear up in January.

Not that work or Engineer Obsessive got any better. The Hag was able to cope with them without falling apart, crying on vice-presidents, or going postal. Options one and two had already happened and things were under control before she got to option three.

With the economy making economists out of us all, the Hag's employer fell back on their default strategy: off with their heads. They laid off a quarter of the company, including the Hag.

The Hag isn't sure whether it's the meds or having done her grieving last fall, but it was almost painless. Engineer Obsessive was a great help. Reliably, he spurted insane comment after clueless statement, followed by impossible orders, so the Hag spent the final month shrieking with laughter and doing verbatim reports to an appreciative audience.

And so, the Hag is home, and oh so happy to be there. The first Monday she carried her coffee out to the deck, sat there, and listened to the birds. With luck she will never have to see any of those management jerks ever again, and this gives her a little warm glow all over. Of course, that could just be a hot flash.

What will the Hag do now? No idea. Sleep. Tease cats. Tease Mr. Hag. Read. Write. Eventually, she may have to seek paid employment. Feh. But not for a good long time.