It takes a village.

Well, it looks like John isn't going to deposit ANY of the check this month.  Not a dime.  And food stamps have still not replenished for this month yet.  This leaves me feeling really uneasy.  My parents sent me a check in the mail because they're worried.  Last week, my friend Monsieur le Peen sent me the gift card..  and once again, yesterday I received another gift in the mail.   A friend of mine from grammar school and her mother put together  a box and three large shopping bags FULL of food, and a gift card for my local supermarket.  The care package was incredible--- a lot of basic pantry items that we can always use-- boxes of cheerios, jars of peanut butter and jelly, campbell's chicken soup, crackers.  But the best part of the whole package (to me) was all the little extras that the boys LOVED!   Mini packages of Annie's graham crackers, about a million little packages of spiderman and toy story fruit snacks.  Jello pudding cups, jello mix, cookies, JUICE BOXES, big bag of m&m's, and tootsie rolls.  All the things that I always have to say no to at the grocery store.

The timing couldn't have been better.  I had just returned from the grocery store with my 2 year old.  We bought milk, bread, apples and ground beef to make sauce.  We normally drink skim milk or 1%.  So, I bought whole milk yesterday so that I could pour half in another container, and then water it down to make it last twice as long.  That's how bad it's gotten.  We get only the bare necessities, because I have no idea when the next check or food stamps are going to come along.
We pulled up to the curb and I could see the huge box on the porch along side the bags.  I knew it was another friend looking to help me.   She left a note, and told me to please let her or her mother know if there was ever anything else they can do to help me.  I messaged her right away on facebook to thank her and let her know how much it meant to me and how happy she made the boys.  She was a single mom for 11 years, and knows very well how hard things can get at times.  She had it tougher than me, I think.  We were young when she had her first son, early 20's.. and she raised him alone for a long time.   Now she's married and has a little family and her own business- a line of children's clothing and handbags, and accessories.  But she remembers when she didn't.

Here's a link to her business's facebook page.  Some really beautiful things!  If I had a baby girl (and money)  I'd be all over her stuff!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/giggleworm

It absolutely astounds me how many people I have in my life that want to step forward and help me and my kids.  So many people have made this horrendous situation I'm in manageable.  Without the generosity of these friends, I literally would not be making ends meet.  We would not be buying milk.  The boys would be drinking only water, and we would be sustaining on whatever we have in the pantry.  And we would be fine.  But the boys would be seriously doing without. 
How disgusting is it that the father of my two boys couldn't care less about any of that?  It doesn't phase him at all.  He knows how desperate things are for us, and it doesn't seem to phase him in the least.   I texted him last night and told him that we need to put all the pettiness aside for a minute and acknowledge that the boys and I depend on that monthly check 100%, and that without it, not only can I not pay our marital bills (debts incurred on my credit cards during our marriage), but that I cannot provide for the boys.  I told him about buying the whole milk to water down.   He replied that he went two days last month without any food in his house.

I'm sorry, WHAAAAAT?????  He actually said that!  Like it was a reasonable counter point.  Hey John, you just got OUR check for a good chunk of change... go buy some food jackass.  Oh, or hey, GET A JOB DOUCHEBAG.