I have lived in a small town setting most of my 44 yrs of life. I have worked out of the small town I live in since I was 18. Currently, I work for a small town grocery store, in the deli department, just seven miles up the road from where I live. I have two children from a previous marriage, a son, 15 and daughter, 19.
First, let me say there is nothing wrong with the job I have currently. I have been there for almost a year and I make seven dollars an hour. My bosses have been really good about letting me have certain days off to take my father, 81 years old, to his doctors appointment and other functions that he likes to attend. Most larger employers would not have this flexibility, and for this reason, I stay.
Secondly, just to give a little history of where I stand today, let me go back in time.
I have moved away from this small town two times in the last eight years, first to Hopewell, VA, when I had a really good job and needed to move closer to my work. I couldn't keep up with the bills and had to move back to Waverly, to my dads small tenant house. The second time(2005)was to Bracey, VA, located on Lake Gaston. We moved there to help my fiancé s grandmother with her bills. He found a job and soon after I found a job. All was great, I was getting overtime, because of Hurricane Katrina(my company was making a lot of the furniture for the FEMA trailers), and it looked like we might be alright financially. We were married October 21, 2005.
Overtime was cut in the early spring, as demand was down, and then our hours were cut back to sometimes 24 hours a week, sometimes 32 hours. I filed for partial unemployment and got it. That helped some, but it wasn't enough. Every time we thought we were going to be okay, someone that I wasn't married to, was asking for more and more money, to pay bills, for the groceries, etc. When we first moved in there, we were told all we had to do was pay the electric bill and buy groceries. We agreed to the terms and did just that. It wasn't until things had gone from good(both of us employed) to bad(me working only), that I began to realize I need to find a better job, so after applying twice, I was interviewed, tested, interviewed and tested again, that I finally got a better job, 32 miles away from Bracey, in Oxford, NC.
I thought things were looking really good for us then, as the company I was now working for, had much better employee benefits, with a vision plan to boot. The insurance started the first day I started my work there. I loved this job! The commute wasn't bad, and I had a reliable vehicle to drive to work everyday. I was making ten dollars an hour and pretty much guaranteed 40 hours a week. My husband, who was working when I got this job, decided to look for another job and then again, became unemployed. I helped him with his job search, finding things that he was qualified to do. He would get work and then something would happen and be out of work again. I could not keep up the bills we then had to pay(the electric had really increased), and buy groceries.
One day, out the blue, about two weeks into my third month at my new job, his grandmother stated she was going to close up her house, and move in with her brother and that we had to move out. Deep down inside, I was relieved to here this, because life with her had become impossible. There were constant arguments, mostly due to money, or should I say the lack of it. She actually said in one argument that I was making less money working for the new company.
I called my dad, as he had offered to let us move back to the cottage on the farm where he lives. Dad said it was okay and we moved back to Waverly. This was labor day weekend, 2007. My husband and my son lived without me for two weeks, so that my son could start school. My daughter stayed with me, doing the packing while I was finishing up my two week notice. We moved the rest of our stuff after I finished my last shift at my job.
My daughter found work first, at the local grocery store, right here in Waverly. My husband found work next, working for a roofing contractor. I didn't find work until November, and that was the grocery store seven miles down the road.
Like I said earlier, I have been working there for almost a year now, and again, my husband is unemployed, and my daughter is unemployed. The only good thing that has come about is help with buying food( food stamps). My son still has insurance, with the state and his father) and my father needs me more than ever to drive him to places. He cannot drive at night(DMV restriction), so any function he has to go to, I have to drive him. I think that if I didn't have my son and my father depending on me so much, I would not have so much to live for, but for now, I am needed and that is what counts!
