3 generations under one roof

When most people mention holiday gathering and family in the same breath, it usually involves a brawl either physical or verbal at the holiday gathering. I am so glad that when its time for a holiday gathering, that I am part of a unique family.

My unique family all live with twenty miles of our parents, so we gather often. Many are holiday gatherings but sometimes a group of us will gather for other things. There are many people out here in this world whose families are split to the far corners of the world for various reasons and I am so glad ours is not. When I lived in
South Korea, I felt so lonely without them.

The Thanksgiving holiday gathering was not an exception, as we all gathered in one place and it was peaceful for the most part. Even the noise that was present was happy noise. We had eight little ones from seven months right up to almost 2 years old, and there were seven kids of preschool age. Nine kids from six years right up to seventeen and forty adults. That’s 64 people, and there were 14 of us not there. Big family, yes, but two of those adults were my parents and the rest were their offspring.

Living alone with your children has many benefits, but sometimes late at night or even during the day the loneliness of not having another adult in the house threatens to consume you. That is where I have been over the past few days, so I have been burring myself in work to keep my mind busy.  

I hated living with a verbally and emotionally abusive husband, and that is not something I would ever want back, but I get so lonely. It feels as if at times, that I am facing these long nights by myself and it really sucks big time. I have been living on my own now for the better part of 8 years, so you would think I am used to these lonely old nights but I am not, and I do not think I ever will be.

The kids keep me busy for sure, yet at times, this does not seem to be enough. I want a partner here that I can curl up with on a nightly basis or just cuddle on the couch with after a long hard night.

A few years ago, at a wedding ceremony I was officiating at the entire assembly of people laughed when I introduced the newly married couple. Let me take you back so you understand the day as I do, we shall see if you understand my horror. 

I am a woman of God, you see a minister of an interfaith church. I consider my self open-minded person; I take wedding ceremonies very seriously. On a beautiful spring day, I was standing in front of those gathered before me.

“Do you Lisa take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love only him forever until death do you part?” I asked.

Lisa standing there in her white dress filled with sequins from the neckline to the eight-foot train lying behind her. She was a beauty that is for sure.  Gazing loving upward at her future husband who was almost a foot taller then herself she half whispered, “I do.” 

Dick smiled down at his bride while holding her tiny hand in his. He was a proud man, a very hard worker to boot. He looked stunning in the rich black tuxedo he had rented for the occasion.

It was Dick’s turn so I began asking this giant of a man the same as I asked his bride.

“Do you Dick take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love only her forever until death do you part?” I asked.

With a smile that angels from heaven above could see, Dick replied, “I do, I certainly do” He beamed down a smile that made it seem as if only the two existed in this world.

I as a Minster thought it was the look of pure love. A love that would stand the test of time; no man could break. It was as if the rest of us in the room did not exist I knew this would be a solid marriage.

“By the power Vested in me by God” I paused as a young girl came running up the isle.

“Momma, Momma” she crying her pig tails flying behind her.  We all watched as she ran to her momma, almost tripping on the train. “Up, UP” she cried upon reaching her momma a full two-steps ahead of her winded grandma.

Lisa scooped up their daughter into her arms, quickly regaining her composure. 

When silence fell over the assembled crowd once more, I continued announcing the couple. “I am proud to announce Mr.”

“My Mommy got married to my daddy” She squealed to the assembled crowd; it took forever to get people settled back down. Laughter filled that grand old church, that day.

That day I officiated over the wedding on that beautiful spring day will live in infamy. In my heart, I could have never put together his first name in a sentence with his last name, without laughing myself. That little girl named Sarah Head saved my honor that day.

People often tell me go back to school, get a degree, and if I am home I point to my ‘power wall’. My power wall has two associates’ degrees, and five various awards I have earned; English professional, math professional, and 2 computer related awards. These are all just wall decorations they serve no real purpose for me. These wall decorations are an ego trip if you will. Perhaps Joe the plumber’s salary will pay off those college loans for me so the interest quits climbing because I cannot find a job.  

Life is tough for Jo the single momma, but I do not complain much. I am a proud woman, and my parents taught me it is far better to give then receive. I was named Amy Jo at birth. My parents simply call me Jo; they always have. Joe the plumber’s fictional salary is what I desire, but my parents taught me as a child that hard work is what makes a person successful. Therefore, since I cannot find work in the traditional sense I will continue to my living as a writer and doing the best I can as a single mom.   

There are no activities, which cost money, but my sons still manage to have healthy fun for school related activities. My oldest son is in FFA, SADD and recently organized a well attend fundraiser for beast cancer awareness. He is also a member of the army reserves. He also works part time and attends high school full time. My younger son is involved with SADD and student government. Both boys mange to get good grades and have plans for college, I am proud of them.

I do wonder what good college will do them; I myself seriously doubt the value of my own college degrees and those people I know personally who are not working in the field for which they hold the degree.

Yes my sons get a meager child support payment each week, and we are surprised when we get the whole amount they are entitled too. Their father is behind in child support, even though it is taken out of his paycheck. Nothing new here again as million of children from single parent homes deal with this reality every day.

Stay tuned for part 5

There is no home phone here. It is an unnecessary bill when my pay as you go cell phone is cheaper. Fifteen-dollar phone cards are cheaper than a fifty-dollar phone bill. I can still check on jobs as often as I need to, or make whatever calls I need. I am your average American single parent in most aspects.

I, Jo the single momma have two sons in high school and an adult daughter. My daughter and her two small children lived with us in a tiny three-bedroom house; until earlier this month. She could not afford an apartment on her own from her salary for the part time work. Together we helped each other, survive in these tough economic times.

There are no new hundred-dollar shoes for my sons, unless they buy them. I bought very little for school when it began a few months ago, because the bills come first. Last year when my kids had big birthdays, we celebrated with a home cooked meal rather then the presents associated with the 16, 18 and 21st birthdays. Millions of Americans below the poverty level live this way. I am not different, except my job is different from most people.

Stay tuned for part 4

Imagine all the things I could do with Joe the plumber’s salary. Perhaps I could buy a car and pay all the expenses that come with it. I live in a small town where there are many businesses within walking distance; still the employers want all employees to have car. I guess they want to make sure I can get to work at a moment’s notice, which is reasonable, but I have two dang feet. These two feet can do what most things that needs to be done in the day.

Joe the plumber’s salary could also help with the bills associated with the house, stuff like water, sewer, gas, and eclectic. I cover the house payment in one shot because of my writing most months, but I rob Peter to pay Paul for the other bills.

Stay tuned for part 3

I am not Joe the plumber but I need his fictional salary! I am Jo the single momma trying to create a living any way I can legally to provide for my children. I may gross 20,000 this year and I would love to be making the $250,000 dollar salary of Joe the plumber.

I actually have made more this year as a freelance writer then when I did as a certified nurse’s aide in a nursing home. However, I still struggle at times; I would love more than a token joke of an economic rebate check. Mine went right on bills and not to the saving account or new stuff for my house.

The officials in
Washington talk about the shrinking middle class and those struggling to get out of poverty. I am one of the millions of single parent families who fell through the crack. I am under the poverty level, but I do have a roof over my head and I am able to put food on the table.

Last evening we got a light dusting of snow, our first here in town. I enjoy watching it snow, I just hate shoveling the crap of my sidewalk. Luckily, when it fell it did not stay on the sidewalk, which was nice.

My parents who live on the hill beside my one sister have been getting a dusting of snow for a few weeks now. I know how pretty it gets up there when Mother Nature puts her blanket on the ugly brown earth. It is awesome and it inspires me to be creative.  I remember as a teenager sitting in my bedroom looking out my window and filling those 500 page notebooks rather quickly. Love stories is what I wrote back then, now days I am writing for a living. I am just so thankful that I now have a computer to be creative on; it saves my hands and lots of paper.

How do you expand one topic idea into several for several articles?This is a question that many people ask of me when they find out that I am a content writer. That is a simple answer but it does take some time to explain. Rather than explaining it, I will describe exactly what I do this way the idea is grasped better. 

Take a sheet of paper from your printer and draw a circle in the middle of it write the word Christmas. Now draw lines off that circle, we will be writing off those lines. Write one of the following topics on a line, then move to the next line, and put a new word on there.  

Add the following words decorations, presents, food, crafts, memories, customs, and Miscellany. Now write different types of decorations under the decoration lines, and do the same with presents, food, crafts, and the others. Under presents you could add men, women, boy, girl, baby, pet, the possibilities are endless. 

This is how you take one topic and expand it into many other topics. Each idea becomes a separate article. For instance, how many gifts for males can you think of? There are cheap, romantic, necessary, funny, and clothing gifts for men of all ages. Your little piece of paper can hold hundreds of article ideas, now you simply choose which articles you wish to create. 

This method works with any holiday and almost any topic such as ice cream. There are sundaes, recipes, occasions to eat it, and even famous makers of ice cream. The piece of paper gives you an idea board that you can see, and use as a backdrop for creating the articles. Suddenly any writing blocks are gone and you feel creative once more.    

Let us discuss research. Just say screw it and forget about it. I hate doing research for an article unless it truly interests me, or it is for a good amount of pay. An hour or two of research for a boring topic is not worth my time to write if I am only making five bucks or less on it. 

This is why most freelance writers write on topics that they know plenty about. That is my first tip write what you know. If you write what you know, then you can create an article very quickly. Research takes excessively much time unless the dollar amount makes the article worth your time. 

Research is not boring if the topic interests you, but if you decide to write an article on a topic that does not interest you will get bored with the research. Most of the time you will get frustrated and quit writing the article if you have no personal interest in it. Therefore, if you try to find something you like about it then chances are you will finish the article and do a good job on it. 

There are plenty of content sites out here, which will pay you money to write an article that does not require any type of research. If you want to spend hours, doing research for an article that will pay you a few dollars then have at it. Me I prefer to write what I know off the top of my head.