One Paycheck Away

Youngest greeted the mother of his classmate at her door.  "I'm selling popcorn for Cub Scouts," he said cheerfully.

She looked up at me with a pained expression on her face.  I had watched her children march off to the first day of school now for three years, maybe longer.  "My son told me today that you were moving," I tried to say this as gently as possible.  "Don't worry if you don't want any popcorn.  We'll understand."

She nodded.  "I'm a single Mom and I can't afford the payments on this place."

"Are you going far?" I asked.

"I'm just moving in with my sister," she said.

I wished her luck, but her eyes still haunt me.  Hurting, pained.  My breath catches in my chest when I think about it. I don't know if her husband has left, or if she never married.  I don't know a thing other than her daughter is in my youngest son's class.  And I know now that the house on the corner is empty.

The two times I went out selling popcorn with my scouts, I encountered mothers who were struggling.  One afternoon with my oldest, we stopped by a woman who was raking in her front yard.  She closely examined the flyer, then sighed and said, "Honey, I'd love to help you, but I'm just trying to make payments on this place."  A little girl began to drag her pile of leaves around.  "Hey! You stop that right now!" the woman shrieked.  She grabbed the rake from her daughter and we slowly edged away, her shrill voice scolding her child. I winced and wondered if I ever used such an obnoxious voice.

Many retirees live in this little town because homes are priced reasonably.  One woman moved here after her husband died and left her nothing in her old age.  She became a vegetarian out of necessity and over the past couple of years. she has found jobs that she is able to do, and quit ones that the doctor has told her are too strenuous for a 76 year old.  I wonder what will happen when she turns 80.

The owners of the two diners in town warily watch the gas station signs for price increases. They had seen more people in their diners lately, but as the price goes up, the customers don't come in as often.  They struggle with staffing and paying bills.  The used stores are thriving, and the other local stores have more business from residents who don't want to spend the gas traveling to buy at a cheaper price.

In a way, this little town is so much like the rest of the United States.  A recent story on Yahoo cited how they can't practically give away the houses in Detroit.  All around the nation, people are tryiing to balance making house payments with having enough fuel to make it to work. 

In home after home across the nation, people are struggling with making ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck.  And as the price of oil goes up, the future becomes more and more uncertain.