And She's Back

Yesterday I (and many others) blogged about Jen Dinoa's blog being removed from the State Department's blog roll on it's recruitment page. Her offense?  Blogging about her diagnosis and subsequent treatment for breast cancer. A story that was picked up by the Washington Post, Jezebel, the Gawker, the Drudge Report and others. If you want to know more feel free to check out her blog, or scroll down and read yesterday's post.  Go ahead, I'll wait.

All caught up? Good. Well it seems that the powers that be were listening.  Not only was Jen's blog put back on the list where it belongs, but this message is currently featured prominently at the top of the page:

To our Bloggers: As you can see, we have re-linked to Jen Dinoia’s blog and sincerely regret any offense we caused. We appreciate all your efforts to share your personal Foreign Service experiences (writ large) and are pleased to offer them a wider audience. We will certainly try to be more sensitive in future decisions regarding placements. Thanks again for your efforts and your service – Jeff Levine, Director of Recruitment, Examination and Employment

One of the downsides of being a trailing spouse (aside from being stuck with that dreadful label) is an occasional feeling of helplessness or being out of control of your life.  After all, we are not the one choosing where we live, our house, or even our furniture.  To be honest the employee isn't exactly making those choices either, so perhaps they experience those feelings from time to time as well.  In any case, in this instance, it is gratifying to know our voices were heard, and an injustice was rectified.