The Christmas Cordelia’s Mom Was Financially Distressed

Posted on December 13, 2023 by cordeliasmom2012

Christmas is coming!  Only a little more time to shop for those special gifts.

But what if you’re a young parent with tiny children, and you’ve run into hard times this year?  What if there’s no money for toys because you’ve had to spend it all on rent (or mortgage payments), utility bills (including heat), groceries, and gas for the car to get to the store to buy those groceries?

Many years ago, hubby and  I found ourselves in just that situation.  I don’t recall what year it was and I don’t recall whether we had three daughters, or two daughters with one on the way.  I also don’t remember whether our financial crisis was because one of us was out of work or whether it was due to medical bills, car repairs, household repairs, or some other costly emergency right before the holidays.

What I do remember is racking my poor little brain to try to figure out how I could make my girls’ Christmas morning happy with no cash on hand and very little available credit on any of those stupid plastic cards.  If I recall correctly, we did manage to buy one modest “Santa” present for each child (’cause Santa always brought the best gifts – don’t judge, I believe everyone needs a little magic in his or her life).

But what about presents from Mom and Dad?  Sure, my girls were maybe old enough to [sort of] understand that money was tight, but they still deserved something, right?  We could swing a few stocking stuffer items like candy and hair barrettes, but I wanted to give them a bigger present they could enjoy for more than a day or two.

Finally, it occurred to me that a gift doesn’t have to be something new and shiny; a gift can be pretty much anything so long as it’s given with love.

It also occurred to me that little girls love to play dress up.

So, I scrounged up an old duffel bag which had barely been used and put in a couple pairs of high-heeled (worn only once for some special occasion) shoes and a variety of clothing I had “outgrown” or which (again) I had worn only once for some special occasion.  At that time, I worked for a large law firm, so I went around to some of the other moms and explained my situation, and many of them donated items from their own homes – which made the dress-up bag even better because it would include things my girls had never seen before.  My group of mommy friends even managed to come up with some costume jewelry to add to that bag.

Best Christmas morning ever!  My girls loved their dress-up bag and played with it for years, often using some of the clothing and accessories for Halloween costumes as they became older.  When they finally outgrew both dress-up and Halloween, the bag and all its contents was given to a friend who had a number of children younger than mine, and she told me her kids loved it, too.

The moral of this story, if there is one, is that being financially stressed doesn’t mean you can’t provide your family with a memorable Christmas.  Even the youngest child can somehow understand that a gift obtained and given with love is better than one purchased at the risk of the giver’s  bankruptcy.

If this post helps even one reader feel better about facing the upcoming holidays while struggling to pay daily expenses, then I’ve done my job.  I’ve given you one idea for an inexpensive yet exciting gift; if you’re looking for ways to provide a special, but simple, holiday for your children, an online search will bring you a bunch of  thrifty alternatives to expensive, store-bought gifts.

Hugs, all.

__________

I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
__________
Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in Holidays, That's Life | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

A Little Help From My Friends

Posted on November 20, 2023 by cordeliasmom2012

Last night, I dreamed I returned to my pre-retirement job.

No, it wasn’t a nightmare, but it also isn’t something that’s going to happen.  I’m loving not having to set my alarm, and having nowhere I need to be at any particular time on any particular day (well, except for medical appointments, of course).

So, sorry, former bosses – I am, in fact, permanently retired.

As noted in some of my prior posts, my only retirement concern is financial.  Trying to live only on Social Security is not easy, especially since the real estate taxes went up again this year.  Knowing things would be a bit difficult, I stocked up on many essentials prior to quitting my job:  things like yarn, books, my favorite soap and shampoo, and household items like cleaning supplies and canned goods – pretty much anything non-perishable which I knew I would evetually use up.

Yarn and books were my main concern.  They are expensive, and there would be no stretch in the budget to accommodate them.  Reading and crocheting are the main activities to keep me entertained now that I no longer go to an office.

Imagine my surprise when I recently received a text from a colleague with whom I worked a number of years ago.  Her sister, who was a  crocheter, had died and my friend was cleaning out her personal effects.  There was “some yarn” in her sister’s house, would I like to have it?

Say what? Of course I’d take any yarn I could get my hands on!

Imagine my further surprise when “some yarn” arrived at my house:  there were 5 huge bags with an incredible assortment of various weights of yarn, including crochet thread, and there were even needlework tools, like needles and hooks!

I won’t have to find room in my limited budget for yarn for a very long time.  Heck, just going through those bags and sorting everything out will keep me occupied for quite awhile.

Awesome, isn’t it?  Even my husband commented on the incredible timing.  While my friend knew I had retired, there’s no way she could have known that I was fretting about being able to afford my yarn.

BTW, this is the same friend who helped me out previously by taking custody of my mother’s piano when I realized it would not fit in my new house. I cried when the piano movers were loading it onto the truck, but my sadness was eased knowing that piano would be loved by it’s new owner as much as I had loved it.

I will see that the newly received yarn is treated with the love it deserves.  Since most of my finished projects are donated to local charities, my friend’s kindness will be extended  beyond only me.  “Legacy Needlework” has taken on a whole new meaning.

Hugs, all.

__________

I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
__________
Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

 

Posted in Relationships, That's Life | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Watching the World Go By

Posted on November 13, 2023 by cordeliasmom2012

After my first week of full retirement, I am feeling very relaxed.

The hardest part has been adjusting to the fact that on most days, I really don’t need to be anywhere at any particular time.  I keep finding myself thinking that I must finish these chores today ’cause I gotta get ready for work tomorrow – and then I remember  I don’t have to work tomorrrow – or the day after or the day after that.  I must admit that after working for 50 or more years, it hasn’t been the easiest adjustment to make.

For many of my 50+ work years, my greatest dream was to merely get a day or two of peace.  Like most employees, I would sometimes call off “sick” simply to have a day to do whatever I wished or to lie around doing absolutely nothing.

Well, I have that now.  This is probably the quietest neighborhood I’ve ever lived in.

(We won’t discuss the gun fight a couple of years back.  That was an isolated incident during a drunken party at a rental house around the corner, and no one was injured.  There have been no such incidents either before or after that one.)

Seldom do I see anything much when I look out my front windows.  Puppy Cody lets me know whenever there’s an Amazon, UPS or Fedex truck anywhere on the street, or if any of the neighbors have a plumber, electrician or other contractor in their driveways.  She does tend to disturb the neighborhood peacefulness whenever she sees someone she doesn’t think belongs here.

However, for some reason, Cody never barks when  the local daycare staff walks their tiny charges down the street every weekday morning.  I can hear them coming, I don’t know why Cody doesn’t.  Or maybe beause they’re such little strangers, she doesn’t feel threatened.  I never know what the silly dog is thinking.

Anyway.

If I get bored, I can always look out the back window:

Sometimes there are rabbits, birds and/or squirrels running around back there.  Once, I even found a tortoise.  It’s not a huge yard, but it’s mine, and I always enjoy looking out at it.

Mostly, I’ve been sleeping late, watching videos, and crocheting.  A lot of crocheting – I promised a local women’s shelter a dozen hat/scarf sets to help keep the residents warm, and with the colder weather arriving soon, I’ve been pushing to get those finished.  It doesn’t help me supplement Social Security, but at least it makes me feel like I’m still contributing something to society.  Maybe someday after I’m dead, someone will find a hat, scarf or afghan with the Legacy Needlework/Teddy Rosalie label and remember me with fondness.

Or not.  But at least those ladies won’t have their ears freezing off this winter.

Hugs, all.

__________

I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
__________
Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in That's Life | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

And … Done!

Posted on November 1, 2023 by cordeliasmom2012

And so, as they say, today is the first day of the rest of my life. My retired life, that is.

My last day at work (yesterday) was, as one can expect, bittersweet.  There were hugs all around, and carrying those personal effects to my car at the end of the day definitely felt weird.

But it was time.  And not a day too soon.

I’ve said all along that I planned to leave “before the weather changes” so I would no longer have to make that long commute in wintertime.  As luck would have it, yesterday brought the first snowfall.  Not a lot of snow, it barely covered the ground.  But it was icy, there were traffic accidents overnight because of the weather, and I am sooo very happy to be at home with no real need to go anywhere today.

Now it’s me and Puppy Cody, all day, every day.  She’s especially happy about that!

Poor Cody has had some health issues recently.  As her vet said, “It’s rare for a 10-year-old dog to become infested with three different kinds of parasites.”  Ugh.  She’s always been on a monthly medication  for heartworms, which also supposedly controls hookworms and other parasites, but the vet thinks she keeps reinfecting herself.  How?, you ask.

Well, the silly dog just loves to forage the back yard for all those little “gifts” the bunnies and squirrels leave.  In the process, she’s probably also picking up bits of parasite-infected soil.  Double-ugh.

So, now she’s just finished two courses of antibiotics and deworming – and, because she’s a bad dog who just won’t listen when we tell her to get away from that!, whenever we take her out back, she must wear a mesh muzzle which prevents her from even getting her tongue out.  Don’t worry, she can still breathe, bark, and chase those squirrels and bunnies, but she can’t eat or lick anything she’s not supposed to eat or lick.  (As a plus, should she actually catch one of those critters, like she did a few weeks back, she won’t be able to bite it.)

BTW, I just realized that if one dog year equals seven human years, then Puppy Cody is now the same age I am!  I’m 71.  She’s 10 in dog years – which, for those of you who can’t do the math, would be 70 in human years.  No wonder we’re both becoming somewhat decrepit!

Hope all is well with all of you and yours.  Should you ever be in the Western New York area and want to meet Cordelia’s Mom, send me a quick email (cordalismom2012@yahoo.com).   I can’t afford much on only Social Security, but I’m sure I can manage an inexpensive lunch and the gas to get there.

Unless, of course, it’s snowing.  Then I ain’t goin’ nowhere.

Hugs, all.

__________

I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
__________
Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

 

Posted in Pets, That's Life | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments