So, I'm standing in line at the grocery store this morning. Every Friday, I drop the kids off at school, and then immediately hit the store at the godawful hour of 7:30ish, to avoid the crowds that congregate later.
First, I get stuck standing in line behind a family of three: mom, dad, and little boy. And it seems they like to stand in the checkout line and argue, debate pricing strategy with the cashier, and oh yeah...get the wrong size of everything and run it all back one at a time to get the right size...all while I stand in line behind them with milk getting warm and butter starting to get to room temperature, because there's no other line open. *sigh*
I finally get close enough to put my stuff on the belt. As I wait semi-patiently for them to finish, I start scanning the covers of the various trash magazines that grace the checkout line. I always roll my eyes at the ridiculous headlines, and the only way I ever read those magazines is if someone I know buys them and passes them on to me for whatever reason. Hey, it's free reading material...and I can't survive without something to read.
Then I look at the cover of Us Weekly. On the cover is a picture of some brunette girl with a baby in her arms. The headline reads Teen Mom: I'm Broke. Ummm...why is this newsworthy? There are single moms all over, both teen and otherwise, that are broke. Why, exactly, is this one so special? Oh, yeah, because she is apparently famous, had lots of money, and has now blown it and can't afford rent and food for her baby.
Look, I'm sorry, but I just can't muster any sympathy for this girl, whoever she is. I'm a 31 year old mother of two. I chose to wait until I was stable enough financially to have a child, and mature enough to raise it on my own. Later, my circumstances changed and yeah, now I'm a broke single mom. But I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me, and I certainly don't get to be on the cover of a magazine begging for said sympathy.
And what really gets me is that she had money. And blew it. I'm sorry...if you get money, and you're stupid enough to waste it all in today's economy, then you don't get sympathy. Why should we feel sorry for you for being an idiot? Why should we feel sorry for you when you got yourself knocked up? I know, I know, she's young, blah blah blah. Not an excuse anymore. Teenage pregnancy is not the big hush-hush secret it used to be; expectant moms don't get sent to the convent or off to live with Aunt Edith until after the baby's born, to return home claiming they went abroad for a year to expand their horizons. If you aren't smart enough to know that having sex can result in a baby...well, all the more reason you shouldn't be having sex.
And why doesn't she have enough dignity, enough pride, to NOT want to announce on the cover of a national magazine that she was stupid enough to waste the money she had and now can't care for her child? Didn't her mother ever teach her about responsibility? About doing what you need to do to take care of yourself and your child? Well, I guess that is expecting a lot from a mother who didn't seem to care enough to make sure her kid didn't waste all her money.
Ok...done ranting. Just had to get that off my chest.
So...D & I are doing pretty good now. Still not great, of course; that'll take time. But we're getting better and better with each day that passes. Looks like he'll be back otr pretty soon, which is good. The place he's currently working is absolutely horrible. This week alone, he had a powering steering line, an air line, and a tire blow...all in a 3 day period. And the owner claims it's the driver's fault if a tire blows. Not sure how exactly he came to that conclusion, but...whatever.
C is going to be getting on a higher dose of his meds. He's having massive trouble paying attention in class, and he's not doing so well here at home, either. So, I've got to call and get him an appointment in the next couple of weeks and get his dosage upped. Then, we'll see how it goes from there.
J is, as always, doing wonderfully. Great grades, great behavior, lots of friends, etc.
That's about it for now.
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