Budget whoas, not Budget woes.

When the man lost his job in October, serious cutbacks ensued.

It was a shocker.

We knew it was coming, but did not really expect it to happen so soon.

Budget cuts were a must as we were headed into spending season.

No more shopping trips just for the sake of filling time.

No more daily lunch dates.

Fine. I was bored with it anyway.

When he finally found work, my 'ME' money was restored at 50%.

Fine, I get it.

When my body revolution started in January, all my 'ME' money went to the professional.

I loved it.

It was focused.

It was productive.

It was positive.

It was a win-win for everyone.

In retrospect, I would have to say that we were much more prepared for the October layoff.

The March job loss caught us off guard.

In October we had ten years of savings & fifteen years of steady employment to fall back on.

And we did.

This time, last week... not so much.

It was time to trim the fat. Again.

We had already learned to budget better.

This time, we were going to new extremes.

Uncharted territory.

We were going to have to live like some of the people we admire from afar, but never fully comprehend.

Fine, it's for the good of the team.

But it sucks.

This time I have something much more valuable to cut.

I've already cut out the lunch dates, shopping trips, and Starbucks.

But this one hurts.

It didn't hurt my pride. That was gone the second I hit 220.

It just plain hurts.

I have to cut the professional.

I have to cut the one thing that keeps me waking up at 4 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday.

I have to cut the one and only person that challenges me.

I have to cut the ONE person that I cannot manipulate.

The one person that can push me to my very best.

The one person to whom I can text my PMS questions.

The one person I can text at midnight for remedies to stomach problems.

My professional trainer, my nutritionist, general practitioner, physical therapist, counselor, and my knitting buddy.

Gone. (Insert pout.)

Luckily, thankfully, he is an understanding being.

He is still on duty.

He is still within texting range.

He is very much a professional.

I know lessons will be learned from this.

For example:

I had gotten into the mindset that I didn't have to work out if it wasn't a training day.

That's not an option right now.

Now, I have no training days.

Movement is up to me.

So far, so good.