Brooke Blogs This

I am a WOH! (Work Outside the Home) Mom. I don’t have a choice. My Husband and I both have to work to afford a 1200 sq. ft. house in a small town 45 minutes out of Nashville. We both have to work to afford two older vehicles (2002 and 2003). We both have to work to pay the electric bill, water bill and car insurance. We don’t have cable or satellite, we don’t have internet and we don’t spend money eating out. Most months we barely get by. If one of us decided to stay home and we got rid of one vehicle, we could only afford to pay $200.00 in rent. We would still make too much to qualify for any kind of state or federal assistance. So we both work. But, if I had the choice, I would still be a WOH! Mom. Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to not HAVE to work, but I would still work. I would still send my daughter to preschool five days a week. For me, Preschool is a God-send. The group of teachers at her preschool are brave. They let the one year olds finger paint!! Preschool has taught my d...

....will it go away? Today is just one of those days when everything hits me all at once: The stress of our situation and uncertainty of what is to come, the worries of money and how we will survive, and the feeling disconnected from the world. Day in and day out, I try to look at the bright side and hope and pray for the best. I do research to affirm where we stand and the likliness of a good outcome. I have thrown everything I have into finding ways to make and save money, telling myself it will make a difference. I never stop racking my brain. However, I never seem to shake the feeling of being disconnected from the world. My only social outlet is work, and being that, is limited. I seem to have very little in common with the people who are easily accessible to me outside of my family, and very little time for those with which I can relate. I crave something creative...to paint, photograph, write, but by the end of the night, when I alot my self some time, I am too mentally tired...