This hasn't been made official by my barn owner yet, but I doubt anyone from my barn reads this blog (I am sure they would've mentioned it by now). But...my husband has a new job--at the barn!
He worked as a hostler at the Union Pacific rail yard in Joliet, but the contractor he works for was becoming rather unappreciative of their employees. To make matters worse, some of his co-workers were slacking big-time or making mistakes, which cast the entire company in a bad light. He was tired of facing threats of company-wide firings every week, so the search was on for a new job.
Last week, my barn owner sent out a barn-wide email saying she was looking for a new full-time guy at the barn. The guy would feed and water the horses twice daily, turn them out and bring them in, clean stalls, and do other farm work/maintenance.
I let my husband know about the job's availability and he was interested. He enjoys the barn, he already works outside year-round, doing manual labor (and prefers that sort of thing to just sitting around), he knows the basics of horse care and handling, and the barn would be an incredible commute--just 1.4 miles one-way, door-to-door.
We found out that the pay is $1 less per hour than what he makes now, but the greatly-reduced commute would save us $200/month, not to mention wear and tear on his car. Add in the raise I got in July, and we'll be back to where we were in June, financially, which isn't bad. He will get a raise with more experience, which will help.
After some discussion, the barn owner hired him. He starts Monday September 24, although his regular schedule will be Wednesday-Sunday (7am - 3:30pm). I am very happy for him! It sucks when your husband isn't happy with his job, so it's about time he has a chance to enjoy one.
And of course, Limerick will get to see her "daddy" 40 hours a week!
