You see, well behaved women seldom make history ... and well, I plan to make history ✌🏻
Pretty sure God just lit a new fire inside of me.
"The working poor..."
Do you know what this meaning has come to be?
Do you realize that the alarming number of families in the United States that look just fine ... they appear to be your happy, blessed, hard working, tax paying, economy contributing citizens, but guess what?
They are still - coming - up short!
Childcare costs, student loan payments, trying to keep afloat with the monthly bills and ever increasing rates to grow a thriving family in this ever changing economy, well ... seems that it can become harder by - the - day.
How do I know this for a fact?
Well one, I lived it ...
I was teaching 2nd grade full time.
I was booking photography sessions on the side (as I tried to teach myself the basic fundamentals of photography), to attempt to bring in an extra income.
I was taking 6 grad classes in order to keep my teaching credential current.
I was writing and blogging and praying to God that one day, I would make something - anything - from it.
My husband had a "good" job and had a "good" pay.
I started an at home business praying that maybe, just maybe, it would bring in another supplemental income; you know, combined with my "good" teacher's salary that was one of the highest paying in central Pennsylvania.
Oh, and can't forget: I had 3 toddlers and our 4th baby was on her way.
But you see, we were still just clawing to try to get BACK in the positives due to my unpaid maternity leaves, and it pretty much seemed impossible.
If nothing else would have changed - our 'barely making it each month and a lot of the times, not even breaking even' ... well, we NEVER would have been able to catch up.
Mathematically it was impossible.
And as you can see from all of the above, I never had an issue with being a "hard worker" - I didn't deserve an extra pat on the back ... it's just what I had to do and looking back, I'll be honest: theoretically, I don't know how I did it all. Without the grace of God, I don't know how I mentally and physically survived it but I've learned, there is no work ethic comparable to that of a parent trying to provide for their family.
The second reason I believe this situation to be factually true is the endless conversations I have each week. I had another phone call with a "working poor" family who said, "Regan, we just wish our week away to be able to spend time with our children ..." and yet their 'good' jobs and long hours (the mother being away for 16 hour days between working/commuting), still is leaving them with no breathing room at the end of each month.
Families are wishing their days away - working endless hours - for what?
To be miserable and to barely be able to just make it by the skin of their teeth? Not even able to enjoy true bonding time with their children and as a family ... rarely ever?
The most surprising fact that those who are unknowing of the true devastation that this has already become in America is the fact that all of these families do NOT want a hand out... all of these families do NOT want to lay around at home all day and collect a check in the mail ... all of these families are NOT afraid of hard work...
But by God, they just want a fighting chance to thrive - to not live miserably wishing every work week away - to not have to attempt to keep up with the astronomical student loan debt and childcare costs and tax and insurance increases.
My greatest fear is that the majority of those suffering, just "existing" like this and the majority of those who have control over helping to aid in changing - forever impacting millions of lives - well, it won't be realized until the ripe old age, sitting in a rocking chair thinking, "This was my life? This was what I did, what I endured, what I gave up ... this is what I did with the one shot I was given?"
But I've decided to face that fear dead in the face, to dig deeper, to do more, to speak more loudly ...
You see, well behaved women seldom make history ... and well, I plan to make history ✌🏻
Pretty sure God just lit a new fire inside of me.