Like BBM, when I've been unemployed, I found 'way too much work around the house. But, as all those above have said, I was able to make all my kids' high school extracurricular events after school, like the homecoming parade at four o'clock, that I'd never have seen had I been employed at the former job located forty miles away, from which I never arrived home before six.

Long-term unemployment is not sunshine and roses when you have bills to pay and little income, so I'll never say that it was the best thing to happen to me. But I did eventually find a better job much closer to home, I did get to see my kids more, and I started commuting to work on my bike for a few years. We're still recovering from the financial hit we took, but I'd like to think I've learned I can bounce back, so I'm much less worried about losing my job the next time, and I think you will be, too.