- The Unemployed States of America takes readers deep inside the decimated American workforce.
- Penny Moshier, 43, lost her job of six years at a general store and farm in Whitefield, Maine, in March.
- While she misses the community aspect of her job, she's been grateful for the time of rest and raising chickens while she looks for a new job.
- This is her story, as told to Katie Nave.
Due to the pandemic, I lost my job and have been unemployed for the past five months. I was the general manager of Sheepscot General Store, a very special spot on five acres of land with a vegetable farm. Sadly, my last day at the store was March 18.
Sheepscot is a small operation, so I wore a lot of hats during my six years at the store. It was my job to make sure everything ran smoothly, from employee management to accounts payable and receivable. A large part of my role was rooted in community work and event planning. Building trust with the customers was so fulfilling for me and was definitely my favorite part of the job.
My boss at the time was pregnant and trying to mitigate exposure, so I was asked to leave.
I pose more of a risk because of my partner's exposure to others. The store remained open but went to mostly online orders and curbside pickup. Initially, it was very difficult for me because I live in the town and would drive by and see the activity at the store. It was hard to feel as though I was no longer leading my team. I felt as though my troops were in the trenches and I wasn't with them.
Things were okay when we were getting the extra unemployment , and I was actually able to pay off some of my debt.
Obviously, I'm not going places right now, and I haven't been frivolous, so that's helped. Now that unemployment has been cut to $346 a week, I can barely contribute to both the household bills and the cost of food. I've always been someone who's contributed. Thankfully, my two children are grown and on their own and I'm married, so there's another income coming in.
Honestly, I've been grateful for the rest. It's been about a decade since I've stopped to think about myself. A lot of this time has been trying to take the word "should" out of my vocabulary.
I'm taking on projects that I never had time for in the past, like raising chickens and creating a garden of my own. I now have nine laying hens and meat birds. The hens are lovely and follow me around the yard while I sing to them.
There are so many beautiful places to see in Maine. On difficult days, I take car rides with my best friend to nowhere, listening to Americana music, and we sometimes cry. After that, I'm able to be productive again.
Society tells you that you're not useful if you're not constantly productive, and I beat myself up a lot if I don't cross things off the list.
I don't sleep well, so I get up early every morning to get things accomplished. My way of contributing right now is helping my partner get set to go to work.
My quiet time comes after, when I drink coffee, chat with a few friends on the phone, and then head outside to take care of the chickens. I'll usually have more coffee with them and spend some time in the garden.
I'm feeling quite a bit of trepidation right now because this time of rest is coming to an end and I need to go and find a job.
When I was first let go, I didn't take a lot of time to look for employment, but I'm starting to search now with a very fine-tooth comb. I know that a majority of what's out there right now is either not going to fulfill me or pay me what I need to make.
The idea of reinventing myself isn't new. About 10 years ago, I had a successful wholesale food business. We tried to expand right before the economy crashed in 2008 and ended up losing everything. I had to completely start over, so this is somewhat familiar. The difference is that I'm just not willing to lower myself this time around. I've done that before and I'm not willing to do it again.