Aug 14 2008
Everyday struggles
Life since I found out I was pregnant has been extremely stressful. I struggled with finding health insurance, it seems that pregnancy is considered a “pre existing condition” and no one will accept you. After three months of searching I was able to sign with Cobra. (Which is a story in itself and insurance I’d never recommend.) Family issues didn’t make things any easier as a certain loved one struggled with post partum depression. Then my “best friend” accused me of over charging her rent which caused a huge argument ultimately leading to her moving out and no longer speaking with me. I spent 12 hours a day away from my home, coming home for just one hour then heading off to bed to start another day of commute and office work. Needless to say I was exhausted!
So after those four months of hell, Christmas was coming and I looked forward to things getting better as the New Year approached. Then eleven days before Christmas I was fired, the boss was out of town so the guy next in line decided to take it upon himself to let me go. He told me “You can’t work the hours required, you need too much time off, since you’re pregnant.” But when the others in the office confront him about this, he denies it and gives them another reason. Being 28 weeks pregnant and that close to Christmas, my chances of getting hired somewhere else were slim. I attempted to collect unemployment but that was a bust. I attempted to get food stamps but that too was another disappointment. I counted the days until my daughter was born. I needed her to hold, to show me all of this frustration and disappointment was worth it.
My daughter has been here now for five months and I can honestly say I’d do it all again. We still struggle with bills; I can’t afford daycare so I can’t get a job. Collections call all day long and sometimes we struggle with rent. I no longer have faith in our government, when I went to see about food stamps they denied us because my husband had two hundred dollars in overtime. She told me to come back if he doesn’t have overtime because then we would qualify. My neighbor told me she was once denied because she was over by twenty dollars, so ridiculous. We’ve had ups and downs but we get by and having my daughter here makes it all worth it. I wouldn’t trade her for all the money in the world.
