Not So Jolly Christmas Spirit


Christmas, it's a holiday that always has so many families in a very cheery mood. Parents go buy presents, secretly wrap them, hide them, then put them out on Christmas Eve, convincing the kids that 'Santa' left them, while eating the cookies and drinking the milk they left out for him. 

While everyone is in love with the holiday, I honestly don't care for it. I hate how it goes. Last year, I had a ten month old who was celebrating his very first Christmas. My husband had a hard time finding a job around the time my son was born, so we settled for the only thing we could find. Delivering newspapers for the local paper. Sounds easy? Think again. He couldn't do it alone. Our route with two people took two hours, if it was raining, three or three and a half. We spent our Saturday nights, at 'the drop' where the trucks put the bundles of papers on a pallet designated for a specific delivery person, putting the inserts inside the classified, putting all that into the front page. Yes, our local paper does people that way, instead of putting it together at the press. Thanksgiving and Christmas papers were a complete nightmare. It took us HOURS just to assemble all of the mess. Most nights we didn't have a babysitter, so he would have to ride along. Constant driving, and so much stopping will make complete junk out of a perfect ride. It took us $20 a night in gas. We got paid so little, like $200 a week. Christmas 2014 came around, we could only afford one gift for him. It made me so upset that we couldn't do better. Yes, he was 10 months old, probably wouldn't remember it, but it was from my prospective that he should have had tons of toys. 

I thought 2015 would be so different.

January 2015, my husband got hired on at a wood plant, through a temp service. We heard he should be hired on through the plant by August-October. Here it is December 1st, and nothing. When he got hired on, we had been living at his home (with his grandpa, and brother) since I was 2 months pregnant with our son. So, we rented us a home. We have been here since, and all of our bills have draining us of everything. We used our taxes to get my husband a work truck, which takes $40 a week in gas, more if we get bored and go riding the back roads. Here is it, Christmas time again, I have him one gift. I obtained it through a review. I took pride in wrapping it, and putting it under our little table top tree. Although, it is still heartbreaking to see that it is the only present, and I don't know when or if we will be able to get him anything else. 

I feel like although he is 22 months old, he is getting to the age to where he needs to have the experience of ripping apart wrapping paper, tearing through boxes, to discover the gift inside. 

Aside from that, when we got our home, it had appliances that the last occupants left. The washer makes a terrible racket when spinning out, there was a flat top HotPoint Stove left, and the touch pad is going out on it. It constantly beeps with codes on the display, and now none of the buttons that work my oven work. So, I have a freezer full of food for the oven, and I can't even turn on the oven. I'm to the point of just not caring anymore. With him only getting paid $8 an hour, it is enough for bills and his gas. Nothing else. 

But, maybe the rest of you have your crap together and enjoy the holidays!

Comments

  1. I am sorry for your hard times, hopefully things turn around for you all soon. Hope for a Christmas miracle!

    ReplyDelete

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