Trouble in Whoville

In spite of having a zillion (free) books to read, I have been in a bit of a funk. I cannot seem to motivate myself to do anything beyond the basics. I clean, do laundry, check on my online students, and play with the dogs. My husband is in a bit of a funk as well, so we just sit together and try not to cry. I am a smidgen worried about the presidential election and while I will not blame my own personal funk on the masses, I just hate seeing how close the election still is and cannot understand HOW in the f-ing world anyone thinks there is a choice. Or perhaps it is all so polarized that neither side can see how the other side feels. I am a registered Independent, so I just don't go vote down party lines. But this time, so much is at stake. But I just had to look back over the last president's two terms and the decision was not hard, even in the deep South....sorry folks, I live here and know how (stupid) people can be. Here is MY short list:

• Over the last eight years, our (meaning mine and my husband's) personal income has dropped - literally, not just as a result of the cost of living increases that are also outrageous. I currently work two jobs - as a librarian and then teaching a marketing class online. My husband had to change positions and take a rather large pay decrease. Not enough money folks.
• My daughter graduated from college with student loans and cannot find a job to save her life - which is in her own hands, I might add, because she has no health insurance - CANNOT AFFORD her own health insurance and is trying to deal with a lifelong seizure disorder from a birth injury ON HER OWN. And did I mention her student loans? They are also due now. HA!
• My oldest son is a mortgage broker - you can imagine how well that is going! Guess what his wife does? Yep, a realtor! All the eggs in the wrong basket this time. Two beautiful sons who they are sending to parochial school, sacrificing even more.
• Middle son - married, works full time. NO HEALTH INSURANCE because he cannot afford it. And eat or live. Wife - full time student whose financial aid was cut this school year. Why? Because between them they made a whopping $20,000 last year. Don't get me wrong, people exist on far less, but come on. BTW, they have lost three pregnancies in the last two years. Our free clinic just can't seem to help them and they cannot afford a specialist who said to come in for a one hour consult would be between $100 and $300. In my stupidity, I asked why would it be different for the same amount of time. Response - it depends on what you talk about...whatever, give me an f-ing break, your words cost different amounts. I think I need to remember that.
• Youngest son - graduated from high school, has scholarships for college. Life seems to be going well for him, but I wonder what sort of world he will inherit from us.

So you see, from where I am sitting, there is no choice. The decision was made for me because one candidate says the economy is fine, healthcare must be earned, work harder! The other candidate understands that I am working as hard as I can for all of my family. There are not too many more hours in the day. If there were, I would work even harder...look for a third job. In fact, I am looking because I work for the State of Florida and that is not going so well either - we are faced with another 10% budget cut for the second year. We are being told that we must do more with less. I am exhausted. No wonder I am in a FUNK. Then I open C*N*N and see the top headline that the election is a dead tie. All I can say is that you people must be in much better shape than I am both financially and emotionally, because I have had ENOUGH!

one tired and disgusted LibrarysCat