Year 2022

The year 2022 saw many people struggling to survive. My house was no different. Despite working a full-time job, we still struggled to make ends meet. We continually struggle to pay our bills and put food on the table. With the rising cost of everything the money we do make goes to keep a roof over our heads and the lights on. We have little to no money for weekly grocery shopping.

My parents were hit the hardest as they are both on Social Security and cannot live month to month on what little bit they do make. Neither of them had real high-paying jobs that would allow them to make a decent amount on Social Security. My dad has health issues and the cost of his hospital and doctor bills has put even a great strain on their finances. My dad has told me mom he would rather not go tot he doctors so they can afford to eat. This cannot happen as he had a heart attack this time last year and is still struggling to recover from it.

I try to help them as best as I can, which, in turn, puts a strain on my already limited budget. I can't see my parents starving. I would rather go without food then allow them to go without eating.

They cannot get government assistance as, according to the statues of the state, they make a hundred dollars over the limit to be granted assistance.

Where does it end? Are our elderly population just going to start to die of starvation because they cannot afford to eat? Are their children going to do the same because they are doing their best living paycheck to paycheck and are trying to help their aging parents?

The world has become a hard place to live in. We see the struggles of everyday life beat down the already broken people. People who are doing their best to survive, help their families, and make ends meet. There are points when we put on a brave face and struggle through everyday tasks to get by. But is just getting by enough? When will our struggles end? When will we see the light at the end of the proverbial dark tunnel? When will we get to the top of the mountain? When will be able to live comfortably and not struggle? When will there be a time, we will be able to relax instead of live under a constant cloud of stress and strife?

There has to be a way out of this darkness that keeps holding us back. There has to be a means to an end. We keep trying to make it, but it seems the more we try to move forward the further we fall deeper into the deep, dark hole. It is as if something or someone is pulling us down into the very depths of the dark. It does not want us to leave its clutches. It does not want us to leave its warm embrace. It wants us to stay with it for all of eternity. It wants us to leave this world in its clutches. It wants us to remain struggling. It wants to suffocate us until we no longer can breathe. It wants us to take our last breath wrapped in the warm and darkened grave it has so conveniently dug for us. It is patiently waiting for us to succumb to its stranglehold on us, laughing the entire time. It knows we will eventually give in and take our last breath while it stares directly into our souls, taking them to the pits of the darkness.