…and I’m not referring to the earth, tree hugging green.
I guess I’m starting this blog to see if there are other mothers out there like me. I’m a thirty year old ambitious female who was married for the past 5 years to a man who turned out to be, well, that’s a whole other blog.
I currently find myself a single mother of the most beautiful four year old on the planet, and a part-time mother to my step-daughter from my previous marriage. Tonight I find myself extremely frustrated as my job, which I am very grateful to have, mandates that I work the hours of 9am-6pm. The problem with these hours is that my daughter’s daycare closes at 5:30, the daycare I spend 700.00/mo on. Not only do I find myself struggling to afford daycare, food, our house payment (which is significantly less than daycare), gymnastics, etc…but I now am in the predicament where I need to find someone to pick my child up from daycare and watch her until I am able to arrive home from work.
My mother can’t pick her up because she lives out of town. My brother has chronic back pain and can’t make it to work most days, much less pick up and care for my child. My ex husband I refuse to let pick her up because 1. There has been a restraining order against him for me and my daughter and 2. I just found out his Mr. “I Go to Church and am a Family Man” routine is an absolute sham. The divorce didn’t change him, it just allowed him to put his dick even further ahead of his children.
I have resorted to asking friends (meaning people I work with because being a single mom and working 4 jobs I don’t have time for “friends”) if they know any responsible high school/college student whom I could pay 50.00/week to watch my child after school. As I type this, I realize that with my incredible math skills (I was an English major) I don’t even have 50.00/week to spend on a sitter. I have 50.00 total for the month, and that only leaves me 34.62 left over after all my bills. Well shit, time to figure something else out.
Does anyone have advise other than to start buying lotto tickets (I don’t gamble, I’m too frugal)? I already still owe my lawyer over 1500.00 for the divorce which I couldn’t factor into my budget either. I guess this means I better make some damn good art or see if I can start singing at the bar more than once/month.
xx
