it's not this, it's that

My friend AL reminded me: "you didn't get fired .. you got downsized .. there is a huge difference between the two." (I didn't know then but I've since learned there has been at least one other person let go and a number of reporting structure changes.)

Well, yes, there is, especially when an interviewer asks why I left my last job (but maybe they're not allowed to do that). I could say I was laid off---but that implies a possible return to work. I wouldn't say I was fired, because there was no cause, and I did get a package. I could say I was terminated, but that just sounds like fired again, with an unhappy parting of the ways. I won't say I was down-sized, because they might just hire a contractor to continue where I left off (unlikely). And some companies call it right-sizing because they're adjusting the workforce to match the work needing to be done. Note that they never ADD people when they're right-sizing.

Anyway, my cats have been a tremendous comfort, snuggling up beside me in bed, stomping all over the keyboard, and barfing up hairballs in ill-planned places. They don't care that I was booted out---they're just happy to have me at home.