Just imagine not having to worry about whether you might lose your job this month or next.
Such is the life of one of your neighbors who has job security and decent income to boot.
But that's not the only way Janet Crow's employer has come to the rescue.
It’s a job that takes her from one home to the next.
She’s a retired teacher who said it just fit into her life, and she calls herself a department store snob.
Crow's been in the Mary Kay business of cosmetics and makeup for 15 years.
"It's a Christian-based company, so that was No. 1 in my book, and their philosophy is God first, family second, career third," she said.
Crow’s services are a Friday afternoon treat for mom Jackie and daughter Caroline.
Getting gussied up is a "feel good" feeling that keeps Crow's head well above the troubling tide of the economy.
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Job Security
News 8’s Crestina Chavez shares the story of Mary Kay representative Janet Crow.
 
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"People are going to buy skin care,” she said. “You have to clean your face."
But, it's not just about job security. Mary Kay provided Crow some stability even through the toughest of times.
Crow was one of the thousands who evacuated New Orleans Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005.
"My friends and I went together,” she said. “We had everything planned, we've done this before, nothing new. But, the only thing new was there wasn't anything to come back to."
Crow lost her home to the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina.
She returned to her hometown exactly one month later.
"You would not believe what you saw there,” she said. “[It] just looked like what you imagine Nagasaki or something look like."
She ended up with some relatives in East Texas.
Then, Crow made that call to the company telling them she probably won't be working for a while.
"They gave us a new, what they call starter kit, usually you buy that to start out as a consultant, and they gave that to us for free, and they gave us $1,000 worth of product, no questions asked."
She lost this amount of product and more in the flooding, but it did help Crow stay in business.
And, that's not where the helping hand let go.
Crow found that out when she went to her first Mary Kay meeting after Katrina.
"In the back of this van, they had two huge garbage bags full of clothes with tags still on them, purses shoes, everything,” she recalled. “I didn't even know these women, it's the Mary Kay family."
It’s a family that extended to Austin, where Crow decided to settle down.
A woman in pink was there to stand by her.
"She came every day from Dripping Springs,” Crow said. “I had no idea how far that was. I thought that was like next door. She arrived at the hotel at around 9 every morning and we would go shopping, looking for an apartment."
She's now settled into her new home thanks to a disaster loan.
Now, Crow can't imagine leaving.
"I feel more comfortable here,” she said. “I don't have to live with that threat."
But her roots are on walls and books all around it.
Her heart still bleeds black and gold for her beloved New Orleans Saints.
But, leave it to Mary Kay to splash a little color into her new life.
"I am blessed," she said.
Crow went ahead and had her New Orleans home demolished. She would have had it paid off five years after the flood.
