JulieAloha

Finally got to the grocery store – one of them anyway – I have to limit where I go to shop by which stores I have gift cards. $75 in groceries, but almost $50 in gift cards – that does it for Whole Foods for a while. At least I’ll be able to dine on more than spaghetti and rice-a-roni for a bit! I still have a gift card for Fred Meyer, but I need to hold off at least a couple of weeks as I already know my paycheck will be about $500 short – two 3/4 week checks in a row put a big dent in my finances. Good thing I still have a little of my tax refund left, but that will be gone before all the bills are paid this month, so there may be some creditor roulette. I really thought that by my 40’s I would be at least a little higher up the economic scale, but I still find myself among the working poor. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for all I have, especially knowing how close I am to losing it all month by month, but I can’t help but think, maybe I should have been doing more when I was younger and had so much more energy? Now it’s all I can do to slog through the work day and simply maintain my hand to mouth existence. I’m sure I’m not alone, but it feels pretty lonely.
I hate to end on a down note, so I’ll say I’m really looking forward to my summer job – this will be the first summer in 16 years to work somewhere other than the Children’s Center. I’m really psyched to start training this Saturday! Did I mention? I will be a Zooper Day Camp instructor at Woodland Park Zoo this summer! Still playing on my skills with kids, but something completely different and new for me; thrilling!