So Many Things To Say...

My sisters on-demand cable feature turned me onto this interesting show. Thankfully there were TONS of episodes available, all of which were very educational. It's on the Discovery Health Channel and called "I'm pregnant and...". Every episode finishes the sentence with something controversial such as addicted, in prison, HIV positive, etc. Riveting stuff, but my absolute favorite, in that it got me really thinking as well as really irritated, was I'm pregnant and homeless.

You can't paint an apartment like this...

The couple referred to in the title were married, living in a van down by the river (no joke) in North Carolina. They had a one year old baby and she was 9 months pregnant. I know the economy is bad (trust me, I know what it's like to be poor) and it's hard to find jobs, and that part isn't the part that got me a little peeved. It's two completely separate issues.

Firstly, she stated that the only reason she didn't take her baby and a half and go stay with her parents, was that they wouldn't also allow her husband to stay with them, because they didn't like him. Really? Romantic as that sounds, TAKE CARE OF YOUR BABIES! I verified this with my oh so sensible husband, and he said...yeah I'll be homeless you can stay with your parents. If the homeless husby doesn't have a pregnant wife to stress about taking care of, perhaps it would be easier for him to focus on finding work? Come to find out he has a felony on his record...there's the clincher.

Secondly, after 3 hours of panhandling, they made a little over 17 dollars (hey, if you make six dollars an hour, after taxes...that sounds about right), and thus began the discussion of how expensive food is and woe is us we can't cook food living in a van/tent. As a stay at home mom with a very limited grocery budget, don't get me started on what 17 dollars will buy you at the grocery store. You can't cook anything? Buy bologna, a 99 cent loaf of bread, and get free packets of mayo and mustard at a gas station. There, 2 dollars, and you can eat for quite a few days. Don't be squeamish about the bologna sitting out. That stuff has so many preservatives in it...it will live longer than you will.

I mean, water is free (drink it out of the tap, really people, it's more regulated than bottled water), and fruits and vegetables can be very cheap and sustaining. The point is, if people knew how much money WE were surviving on, more than surviving even, their mouths would DROP TO THE FLOOR. Maybe I'm just not eating enough. Probably because my number one priority is stuffing food in that babies mouth. And mom, if we ever became homeless, Mitch could come stay with you guys too right?