Reply to If you grew up poor...

Forum Index » Off-Topic

Reply to "If you grew up poor..."

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Things I relate to in this thread -

- not feeling very poor as a young kid because my mom was like the supermom up thread who cooked to NPR
- later thinking it was normal to have to choose which bill to pay, or to have your power turned off every few months
- I thought food stamps were just a special kind of money that could only be used at the grocery store
- I was also too embarrassed to take advantage of the free lunch program

I am in my early 30s with a preschooler. I'm recently divorced from a man who makes about 3x as much money as I do. I find myself overcompensating with my daughter often. I don't think I will feel financially secure ever in my life.

I do not resent my parents because I know that they actually did do the best they could. My mother is loving and generous. She, like the PP's mom, has brought full bags of groceries to struggling families. She has taken in the abused teenage friends of her children, given them resources, helped as much as she could. She has gone from being a runaway teenage mom to a board certified doctor who provides medical care to poor people. Her patients often do not pay her. It does not stop her from seeing them and it certainly does not stop her from worrying about them. My father has seen all of his kids grow to adulthood and has, in his own way, been very supportive of our choices. He was not always emotionally present, but he is a good dad to me now, as an adult, and he loves my child and dotes on her. They had some hard years, and I know that taking help from their parents was hard on their egos, but they did it for as long as they had to.

When I think of my childhood, I remember the beautiful handmade sweaters my mom made for us. I remember learning how to cook healthy and delicious food that, while it was usually "different" from what my peers ate, is stuff I still cook to this day. I remember the theme song of "All Things Considered" and will forever associate it with helping one of my parents make dinner. I remember my father taking me to record stores and teaching me how to work a record player. I remember reading my way through the library of the small town where he got his first teaching job.

I am grateful every day that my parents were able to protect me from many of the things other PPs experienced. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics