Raytay, I'm a single mom. My daughter is 4. I got pregnant when I was 22 with the guy I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Granted he was a total jerk, it took a total of 2 months after my daughter was born for him to take off. And in those 2 months he didn't sacrifice much. He slept until noon, never got up through the night with the baby, went to work, and then went to the bar after work. Would stumble in at 2-3am and expect me to get up and entertain him. I should have filed for child support earlier, but I am now just doing it. They told me it could take anywhere from 3 - 18 months for the claim to go through. I struggle everyday to keep my head above water. After mortgage, electric bill, gas and insurance for the car and insurance for the house, my daughter's daycare fee's, making sure she has a warm jacket, boots, hat and mittens, plus clothes that fit her for all seasons, it's a struggle everyday to put food on the table for us. I didn't finish high school, so had to go back and get my diploma as an adult while working.I would be so tired, but had to get up early every morning with the baby, go to school and then go to work, just to make sure she was fed and kept in diapers. I have a great job now, but I never realized how hard and expensive it was going to be to raise a child on my own. 4 years later and I am still struggling every day.
I'm past the being upset at not being able to go out with my friends, now a days when Friday rolls around, I am more than happy to sit at home and watch movies with my daughter. Ray, it was a huge sacrifice, and I am still sacrificing things every day. I love my daughter, I can't imagine my life with out her, but man, I wish I would have thought about things like you are now when I was your age.
I'm so glad to hear you are thinking about this, that shows great levels of maturity. Scott and Judy aren't trying to be mean, they really do care what happens to you. Hard to believe since they've never met you right? But we really are like a huge online family here. Hope to see you around :)
Bella
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