Friday, July 23, 2010

Newsflash: Having No Money Sucks

Four months pregnant with Lil' Bean and having trouble getting a handle on this. On the one hand, I'm super excited for this newest addition to our family. I think of how Henry has changed our lives for the better, and it's awe-inspiring. Now there's another little person on the way to mix things up again. I'm so excited and feel so lucky. Okay, enough mush, onto the bitching.
I'm scared shitless, people. SCARED. Henry had a full on nuclear meltdown at Panera Bread earlier this week when I wouldn't let him run through the restaurant and open all the doors. I'm talking screaming, limbs-flailing, head-banging, full-body writhing, rolling on the floor the entire three minutes during which I ordered and waited while the staff triple-teamed filling it in order to get us the hell out of there asap. Fortunately, the place was mostly empty, but the few patrons (all adults with no children present) each gave me a tight smile/eyebrow raise as if to indicate, "Would you please DO SOMETHING about that?" All I could think was, "What am I going to do with two? I can barely physically contain the one I have (a 35 pound almost two year-old is surprisingly strong)."
We live in a two bedroom house which is already about to bust at the seams. Now Lil' BowWow is on his way (I'm certain it's a boy), and we're faced with the timeless question, "Where are we going to put him?" Clearly, the most logical answer is to move, but then the other big question, "Where?" There are several areas in Roanoke that I like; but frankly, we can't afford to live in any of them. And do we buy or rent? Can we even sell the house we're in? Then there's childcare. We have a sweet deal with an awesome sitter who Henry loves now; but I've avoided asking her how she feels about watching a newborn in addition to Henry because I'm pretty sure she's not crazy about the idea. Also, childcare (even the sweet deal we have now) is expensive! Can I afford to work part-time when I'm paying so much for childcare? I really want my mother to quit her job and come live with us a few days/week; but she works and needs the money, and we can't afford to pay her a comparable amount. In times when I feel a lack of control (such as now) I tend to want to focus on little things I can control. Decorating Henry and the baby's rooms when we finally do move is my immediate instinct. But I'm trying not to do that because we don't have any freaking money and we're looking for a house! (I'm sure the fact that in the last month we replaced a wonky washer/dryer and had to shell out several thousand dollars to resurface our driveway is playing into my desire NOT to spend money). So, basically, I'm reminded on many levels that having no money sucks. I'm sure no one can relate to this. Sarcasm, the lowest form of humor, is my defense mechanism. Share your stories of poverty and help me feel better, please.

1 comment:

  1. Dude, I'm poor. Credit card bills, medical bills, student loan bills, all my money goes to that shit. It sucks, rich people need to donate their money to poor schleps like us.

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