Greetings Steemians!
This is how I open when I feel like a geek or a nerd. I think of how it sounds when said aloud, and I get a picture of Robin Williams saying it as Mork from Mork and Mindy. Or maybe people saying hi to each other at a Sci-fi convention, and replacing "Steemians" with "earthlings." Lol.
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Hi everyone!
Is that better? Ok, I'm spending way too much time on this...Anyway, how are you? I'm doing pretty well. Having some coffee time.
In my life, some things have changed, and some things have stayed the same. Come to think of it, that's probably true in your life too. Everyone, in fact, when asked, "So what's going on with you?" could respond with, "Well, some things have changed, and some things have stayed the same..." leaving the person who asked the question thinking um, ok....is that it??
Well if you've gotten this far, I'll go into more detail haha!
It's been over a week since the kids went back to school, and I feel busier than when they were home all summer! Instead of sleeping in, I get up at 5AM or earlier, so I can drink some coffee and just mentally prepare myself for the day ahead. Then I shower and get myself ready before waking the kids up and getting them ready. Usually after I drop them off at school, I come home and spend a ridiculous amount of time on housework. The last few days I've gotten behind because of all the errands I had to run. There's so much busyness, it's hard to keep up!
Financially, we are no better off. Jared is still out of work, but he finally got in to see a therapist last week, and will see an MD today to get on a different antidepressant. There's a shortage of mental health services in this area, so he was on a waiting list for the longest time. The therapist told him to celebrate the small victories, like, he actually mowed the lawn after a month and a half or so. Truly I'm trying to be supportive, but my perspective needs work sometimes.
Because of our financial situation, I've been hustling for our survival. Cranberries are a big business this time of year in our area, so I may end up getting a job in a cranberry processing plant.
My mother-in-law was very generous in buying school supplies for everyone, but we were short on clothes, especially for my eldest daughter. Then, when I went through the other girl's clothes (which consisted of many hand-me-downs), I was hard pressed to find a decent amount of clothing that was free of stains or defects. This was distressing to me because of a strong conviction I have. We have never been rich, and probably never will be, but I always made sure that we never looked poor. I'm not saying that I care about the expensive name brands, or wearing the latest trend. I'm saying the kids always looked nice. Clean, no holes, properly fitting, fresh looking.
Well, seeing this dilemma, and being the resourceful woman that I am, I called a free clothing place I had visited a couple of other times before. They recently closed down, so I called the shelter I stayed at a couple of years ago to see if they could point me in the right direction, and they went completely above and beyond what I expected. They gave me $100 in Goodwill vouchers! This may not seem like a lot to you, but to me it feels like I won the lottery!!
I also applied for energy assistance yesterday, which will help in the coming winter...
Another hurdle I had to jump over was upcoming school picture day. The cheapest package was $9, and gives us 1 5×7 and 2 wallets. $9 for each kid would amount to $36. I thought well, if the grandparents want pictures this year, they'll have to come up with the money. I contacted my mother-in-law, father-in-law, and my dad, who I barely ever talk to and haven't seen in over a year. I thought all the grandparents would go in on it together, but my dad actually went ahead and paid for the nicer photo packages singlehandedly, with one condition: he gets an 8×10 of each kid.
It was nice seeing him yesterday. He said he talked to my mom on Independence Day, and concerning her call to CPS, she made a lot of excuses, but there was remorse in her voice. She said that she just wanted to help, and she wasn't trying to break the family up. My dad responded by saying, "You're in Wood county, that's what they do there." In his opinion the case is still open, and them leaving me alone has nothing to do with my posts on Steemit. If anything, seeing them would just make them want to nail me even harder. I'm not sure what to believe...
Well, it's almost time to start the business of busyness! Have a great day everyone! 🙂
Love, snowpea ❤
Sorry to hear you are still pulling such a large part of what needs done there. Glad to see you were able to get the voucher and winter assistance for the energy.
Your dad is probably correct, in that they will probably peek in from time to time in the background looking to see if you gave them new rope to use. By background, I mean where you may not know they are checking unless someone mentions they were spoken with. Your dad is smart to make sure you don't let your guard down. Things should be fine though as I think you were right that they looked over your blog and saw you are informed and have been sharing with others knowledgeable in this process. You are not the average parent isolated from those with experience/knowledge.
The little victories will keep coming as long as you keep putting in the effort (uhg, it can be so tiring, I feel your pain). The proof in all the great news you have had to share this year despite the struggles to get there. You are a strong person and a great mom to take a breath and do what you need to do. I appreciate your posts as they show that one moves forward after picking themselves up, no matter how many times it needs done.
What an incredibly thoughtful comment! It's been 5 hours since this was posted and you're one of only two people that commented on my post, and the other guy just wanted to inform me that he upvoted it LOL!
I got an inside view of how things work while dating my ex-boyfeiend (if you remember, his best friend is the same social worker who handled my case). I now know that a lot of networking takes place, there are mandatory reporters in the school, they work with police, probably check social media, and who knows what else. I keep in mind all of the possibilities. There was never any notification of the case being dropped. Then again social workers have 60 days to make a determination, so...
Your words are so kind! I have one major weakness though. It has to do with employment. I barely ever mention it, but I have been suffering from severe social anxiety since I was a teen. The only jobs I ever lasted in were jobs where I was by myself. Being around a bunch of people, especially in an environment with co-workers and small talk and gossip is extremely distressing, and I even shut down sometimes, other times I can't formulate my words properly. I am quickly ostracized by all the group-thinkers. It's a nightmare. I hate being this way. Not to sound dramatic, but it's the bane of my existence.
Maybe I can drive a street sweeper LOL. That looks like fun, but I only see guys doing it. :/
I'm pretty much the same, as far as not wanting to be in normal group dynamics. Small, insignificant conversation (donning the mask) seems impossible to me, and at best I force myself to tolerate it when I must (like at my new job). Most seem addicted to hearing the sound of their own voice, no matter how inconsequential the topic they must pull out is. I believe it is their only way to feel solid and try to have compassion for them.
I know you can do it though. :)
I upvoted your post.
Best regards,
@Council
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