Stranded

So every week for us is kind of a stretch. Some weeks are better than others but most of the time it really comes down to the wire for us. Trying to do the traditional family thing has its challenges and finances seem to top the list.

Most everyone knows that we're a single income family. Cindy is a stay at home mom and we wanted it that way frankly. We knew when we found out that Cindy was pregnant with Sam; the traditional family structure was the route we wanted to take. We started trimming the fat then (bill wise) and haven't stopped since. So far we've been able to keep the traditional family structure in tact but with the way things are going right now, we honestly don't know for how much longer.

Thursday night CR had come and gone and I was on my way home. I stopped to get gas in my father in laws truck with the $7 we had in the bank....only that $7 wasn't there. Apparently there was something in the books I missed and we were actually in the hole $12. To quote Louis CK "we have to make $12 just to be broke." Cindy and the kids were at home because Marlee was sick...again...and here I was in Statesville, alone and stranded.

Payday is on Friday but that would mean that I would have to sack out in the truck till in the morning when my paycheck would be direct deposited. After several phone calls and some rather animated dialog on my part (Samuel L. Jackson would've been proud) I decided to dig up what change I had, get what gas I could with it and see how close to home I could get before the truck died and I had to hike it the rest of the way.

I was able to scrape up $2.10. I decided to get $2.00 because $2.10 actually sounded sadder to me than $2.00. I started rationalizing that the cashier might think I have a lawn mower to fill up instead of putting this in my truck to get home on (yes, I know it's November but your mind will do anything to find peace with itself sometimes). I paid for the gas and started doing the math in my head of just how far less than a gallon of gas would get me.

I drove around 60 mph hoping I could limp myself home. Somehow that little bit actually got me home...shew.

Each week poses so many challenges and it makes me question if what I'm trying to do is a realistic option for me or even America right now. Maybe it's a new time. Maybe what used to be the norm is now is just a fantasy. Maybe what we're seeing now is the eventual demise of the traditional family.
At this point...who knows...