Holiday money shortages

[grannytoni]

The Christmas holidays have become such a busy time for most of us. Stores are crowded. The weather is cold in some places and not too much fun for shopping trips. I'm wondering what people really would like for Christmas from those of us that are strapped for cash this holiday season.

[ulsoccer]

I know how that is. Christmas is so overrated, it drives me nuts. I, personally, think the best gift is music. I love getting CD's. If you're really strapped for cash, you could make your own mix CD for someone, it's cheaper. Best of luck to you this Christmas :wink:

[grannytoni]

Thank you for reminding me---a couple of years ago i received a "homemade" cd from a friend and if was too cool---i don't really know yet how to burn a cd, but i'm going to learn---i have been busy here making some Christmas cards thru american greetings---they are very adjustable to go with anyone that you know---thanks again---happy holidays :D

[ninny52]

ch for christmas gifts, and they sure did a better job thatn anyone I have EVER know as far as making us belive in santa, as I was in the 5th grade before I stoped believing. Christmas was very special, but I remember one year, we used all the wrapping paper and mom did not have enough to wrap our gifts and it was Christmas eve and she was VERY upset! Christmas has really and truly became too commercialized!

[ninny52]

I am sorry part of my message did not appear with my post. I know what the shortage of money is like! I went from bring home over a $1000.00 every two weeks to $697.00 and NOW NOTHING! I am unemployed with a disabled husband. My two gradsons have been explained that Santa will still come, BUT it will be a SLIM christmas. Out daughter on the other had is 31 and STILL spoiled! the boys ages 3 and 10 understand better that she does! I have told them that thier birthdays will be better, plus I just bought them both new bikes this summer. My husband has pre lukemia and also hep C along with a low platlet count, so he is tired all the time. Myself, I am a diabetic, have high blood pressure, arthritis, anxiet and depression, plus graves disease. I do not know how my parents did it. After we stopped believing in the REAL SANTA ( and I do not know how they were so sneaky as I was in the fifth grade before I stopped believing) we were allowed $25.00 each for christmas from santa.

[ulsoccer]

Gee, that's too bad. I can relate, though. My family has always had financial problems, but I respect my dad a lot because he's always made sure we're taken care of. My mom has MS and my dad was very recently diagnosed with hepatitis. Luckily, we found out, it can be cured. Ever since soccer's been over, i've been trying to get a job and help out, but no such luck.

I agree, though Christmas is so commercialized and kids don't appreciate anything anymore. It makes me sick how spoiled my brother is at Christmas time even when we can't pay our bills. :x

[grannytoni]

You all are reminding me of my childhood now. My grandparents gave each of us kids [there were 4 of us] $10.00 and we spent it buying gifts for the rest of the family. It went much further than it would today. [that was around 50 years ago] When I had young kids at home, they got to where they sent $1000.00 in early December for Christmas. [that was around 1975-1980] Then I caught up on bills and bought Christmas for my kids. The grandparents are gone now, as well as my parents.
I was laid off on November 15th. The timing was kind of rude. :( The only holidays we got paid for were Thanksgiving and Christmas. They got out of paying us for both of them. We also didn't have time to take out sick days. We only got 2 weeks notice. As it was there was a bit of overtime. That was nice, but they don't let you take sick time during a week when you have 40 hours or more. I tried. They told us we would be paid for our sick hours, but we didn't get it.
Now I have 24 grandkids of my own. I am making them cards from American Greetings with envelopes to match. I really don't have the money to buy them presents as I am supporting myself and my sister. I will have unemployment for a while, but must hang onto all I can of that until a job comes up that I am capable of doing. I have arthritis which keeps me from standing more than a couple of minutes without severe pain. I also have respiratory problems and can't walk far without being out of breath.
The job I had was perfect because I could sit next to my patient to feed him, give his medicine, respiratory treatments, take vital signs, etc. They moved him about 50 miles away to a facility run by a different group. That wasn't fair to him either. He didn't know anyone there. His roommate of many years didn't get to go with him. These guys are adults, quadraplegic, and are not able to talk. Where are their rights? Can't complain to DHS, that's who sent him away to begin with. They say it saves them money for him to be where he is now. I have gone to see him and he looks like he is being well taken care of. Thank God. He smiled when he saw me. That was wonderful. :)
Toni

[ulsoccer]

24 grandkids? 8O Do you get their names mixed up alot? My grandma does that, it's pretty funny. She has to run through a whole list of names before she gets to the right one.

[grannytoni]

Actually, it takes a minute or two to think of all the names. There's Heather, Johnny, Mariah, Stephen, Derick, Lily, Timmy, Aaron, Joseph, Haley, Cristopher, Landon, Alex, Cady, Zach, Justin, Spencer, Dalton, Conner, Keith, JR, Luke, John and one more [i don't know her name] that lives far away and I haven't ever met her. 6 girls, 18 boys. :D :D

[ninny52]

Talk about being a grandparent or our grandparents. My gradpa on my father's side lived to be 98 years old, raised his 3 sons with his mother as my grandmother passed away when my father the youngest was 6 years old. My oldest sister was the first girl born in the family in three generations. Grandpa use to give us $2.00 each for christmas, then later it was $5.00. He only had 7 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren when he passed away. My grandmother on the other hand (this would be my mother's mom) had 73 grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren when she passed away 24 years ago this month, and believe me the family has multiplied! I have two grandsons Jarrod who will be 11 in February and Brennen who will be 4 in April. They are the love of my life - I enjoy every minute I can spend with them. We use to live on the same block as they did, however moved 85 miles away to be closer to husbands doctors and hopfully I could find a job - so far no luck and my unemployment just ran out!!!! :cry:

[grannytoni]

Hi again
to ninny 52---
sometimes you can get your unemployment extended, or so i've heard. :?: :?: what kind of work have you done before? poor health doesn't help, i know. where are you from? i'm in the middle of oklahoma. there is work here, but not that much where they will pay what i was making before. i can't drive very far after work without falling asleep, so i need work fairly close to home.
i took care of people with developmental disabilities. i really liked it.
good luck with everything
toni :)

[ninny52]

Hey there Granny Toni,
I live in Illinois, close to the St. Louis area. I work in the food service department/field. I have worked in hospitals and nursinghomes for the past 28 years. I am trying to get on at a fast food resturant, as I enjoy working with young people - you know kinda take them under my wing. When I was a supervisor at the hospital, I had several high school and college students working for me - they were my best employees. Right now there is too much paper work involved in healthcare and everything has to be documented in every residents chart if they fight at the table, if they spit out their food if they gain or loose weight - it is a nightmare! BUT as I said I enjoy young people and I am hoping that I hear from the fast food resturant, even though I am 52 years young, overweight and have health conditions, I was able to work at the nursing home when someone called off up to 15 hours a day! Take Care - keep in touch! :wink:

[grannytoni]

Hi ninny52 :) It's good to hear from you again. I was born in Illinois, Spring Valley to be exact. Do you cook or what do you usually do in food service? Where are you applying for work? Some places don't really pay all that much, but I guess you already know that. I worked as a cook many years ago. That was when minimum wage was around $1.90 an hour or so. I asked for a raise after an extremely busy shift where I covered for 2 other cooks that were out that day due to sickness. I got laid off. Taught me something, I guess. My next job, I was THE cook. It was a smaller place. They only needed 1 and I was asked to work there. That made me feel better. Anyway, my next "career" was at H & R Block. I took their course in 1983, was hired for the tax season and enjoyed 3 1/2 months of work. Then I had to get a job that would last all year around. I got a job [b]at a [b]nursing home. I couldn't fix the things that were wrong there, but stayed about 6 months until I started nursing school. I got out of school in February of 1986. I went to college for a year or 2 getting a start on credits toward being an RN, but due to family stuff, I dropped out after about a year and a half. So I'm an LPN [low paid nurse - that's what some of us call it in jest], but unemployed.
I agree, there's way too much paperwork to do in the healthcare field. Where I had worked we documented medications a bunch of different places. If it was tylenol- it was marked on the MAR, on the back of the MAR, on the Daily Record, on the Count Sheet, in the Nurses Notes and in the Report Book. The HTS staff also had to call the Health Care Coordinator whenever they gave a PRN [as needed] medication.
If you have any interest in taking care of people with developmental disabilities, you could inquire at the DHS in your area. They usually have a list of agencies that manage the care of those folks. Lots of them have their own homes or group homes. The staff at them is more younger people, younger than us, anyway. They pay you while you are training. It's so much easier than nursing home work. You are sort of like a companion. You help them with daily living. I mostly worked night shift. My guy slept pretty well most of the time. Then I watched TV, did a chore now and then when there was one to do. I also made nightgowns and bibs for my clients. I kept my sewing machine at work.
Think about that, OK? It's just an idea. You sound like a nice person that likes to help others. The job I'm talking about makes you feel good about yourself so much more than the nursing home because you can spend quality time with your client [when they are awake] and see their appreciation in their eyes. It's cool, I think. Well, write back when you have time. Good luck with your job searching. :) grannytoni
gosh, i'm longwinded! :?

[mom_of_12]

Myself, I am a diabetic, have high blood pressure, arthritis, anxiet and depression, plus graves disease.

Are we related? :lol:

Save the diabetes (though my late mother was a raging diabetic & knowing that this endocrinological disorder tends to have genetic ties, I'm waiting...), I am also hypertentive, arthritic, & have Graves, too...which is why I am usually up posting in the middle of the night, LOL.

Are you, by chance, bi-polar, instead? That commonly hits those w/ thyroid disorders & often the patients can be mis-dx'ed.

[mom_of_12]

My grandmother on the other hand (this would be my mother's mom) had 73 grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren when she passed away 24 years ago this month, and believe me the family has multiplied!

I have a sinking suspicion that this will be me in the future, LOL. If all of my children ended up being as "wild & crazy" as we've been, that would be 120 grandchildren alone, not even counting future generations...8O Realistically speaking, if each of the children had just two offspring, that would bring 48.

I, too, have wondered how we will cope @ holiday times once our own progeny begin to procreate. Thankfully, none of our children are spoiled, but, logically, those in large families cannot be. Even before all were born (before this plan became a "necessity"), there were gift & spending limits in place...we weren't about to spend a couple of hundred per child each Christmas. Now that they're all here though, I'm glad that it played out this way. Hopefully, they won't go the opposite way when they have children of their own.

Christmas is far too comercialized, but there is still that nagging feeling that you must do something for it. Just do what you can & do it w/ love. Even if it means going to a dollar store & coming away w/ 5 or 6 things, some of those stores can surprise you w/ what they offer.