When life hands you lemons, buy a fish.
A few years ago when I worked in Cincinnati, several of my coworkers and I kept small fish tanks on our desks. The day that I was laid off, Ben and I had carpooled and I had the car. The first thing that Ben saw when he got into the car was the fish tank on the passenger seat floor, and he said sarcastically, "What, were you laid off?" He was shocked when I said yes.
So today, after being completely caught off guard by my small company’s 22-person lay-off, I stopped by PetSmart to buy a fish.
Ben and I had already decided to eat at the Chinese Buffet right after work, so it was easy for me to suggest that I pick him up rather than meet him there. I didn’t tell him I was laid off until he got into the car and saw a betta fish swimming around in my dashboard cupholder.
He thought I was kidding at first, but we had previously agreed that if one of us were ever laid off we would tell the other person by bringing home a fish. I didn’t really have a chioce. Ultimately, Ben appreciated the fact that I upheld our pact.
And now we have a fish on our kitchen counter as a symbol of new opportunity and our inside joke.
