I have got to get journaling again. Things have gotten really crazy and writing it down usually helps me cope. Or at least remember it correctly later, for comparison. Humans are built to forget the really yucky times, and I’m afraid this is one.
We’re all familiar with the current economy, right? It’s way overdue for a remodel, and I think that’s part of what’s happening to it. However, right now it sucks. We’re both unemployed. The husband was rather suddenly fired, and I haven’t been interviewed seriously for a job since I quit working retail. And of course we have no health insurance now, no prescription coverage, no hospitalization.
Oh, our families will help us out, but I hate taking money from our parents. We’re plenty old enough to fend for ourselves, dammit! I’m perfectly fine with letting family buy Noodle Girl whatever they like, though,especially shoes. 
Unfortunately, if it takes longer than 3 months for us to find new jobs, we’ll be scrambling to make mortgage payments. Thank goodness we have no car or credit card payments!
Inflation hasn’t hit us too hard yet, but we do have a growing child that can drink a gallon of milk every 9 days and outgrow shoes every 3 months. We’ve been making good use of our warehouse club membership, and I shop thrift and resale whenever possible, but still. We are cooking at home from closer to scratch, and cutting out anything we can. Except cable and internet. Those will be the dead last to go, after one of our cars.
The unemployment office just underscored how sucky things are. We weren’t the only couple there, and a few people had half their extended family there too. The staff was super efficient, though, and after the initial application one makes weekly claims online or by phone. The husband resisted going, but it’s his income we live on anyway. I didn’t apply for unemployment for now since I’m going to school. After finals, I’ll get less picky about the jobs for which I apply, because hey, it’ll be summer anyway.
So I’ve been having paranoid feelings, sleeping oddly, but I feel okay otherwise. Of course we’re both stressed out by the situation and the lifestyle changes we’re having to make, but at least the mister is getting some time off. Noodle Girl knows that something is different, but hasn’t really changed her behavior much, so it isn’t affecting her too badly. Just her toy acquisition! We’ll be okay. We just won’t like some of it.
