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| Baby swing gotten from a dumpster, decor on the wall is a cut-up greeting card. |
‘First we are given the test, then the lesson.’Buddhist proverb.
First of all, I want to put out this disclaimer: don't do what I did.
Being a teenage mom was undoubtedly the biggest hurdle I ever faced, and there was nothing glamorous about it, no matter what the reality shows say. Looking back, I can't believe we even survived. Tough times change you, and it is up to each of us to decide if it will be for the better or for the worse. I know what it is like to face an angry landlord wanting his three months of back rent; I know what it is like to look outside and see that the truck has been repossessed. I know what is like to live in a motel room, to cook only in an electric skillet because the gas had been shut off, to have only rice for supper. I've washed my share of cloth diapers without a washer on premises and used bread sacks for plastic diaper covers. One of my infant sons slept in a stuffed chair shoved up to the bed so he wouldn't fall out. I walked to the grocery store almost every day for years with my children in tow, because driving really wasn't much of a possibility until my children were in elementary school. Everything learned the hard way has left its mark on me and shaped how I react to every current crisis. As this nation copes with joblessness and fears of the future, I am strangely compelled to consult my younger self for advice. This hapless girl stumbled onto wisdom without even knowing it. This is what she has to share.
Lessons from a teen-age mom:
1. Find your faith and grab on tight.
Start to ask deeper questions about your purpose in life and why this situation might be happening to you. Ask yourself if this might be a perfect opportunity to reassess what you have chosen as your idols. Everybody is made to worship someone or something, and often it is not the true God. Maybe you've relied on your job or your bank balance to give you your sense of worth. I had to realize this lesson the toughest way possible--when I was just a lost high school kid who's only prior knowledge of the 'real world' was Michael Jackson videos. It is said there are no atheists in fox-holes. I cannot express to you how scared I was during those years, how helpless I felt hundreds of miles away from friends and family, with no money, no stable home, no sure way to even feed my babies, and a husband who brought more harm than help. Our money problems were largely caused by my late husband's hard core drinking problem. There were no cell phones; connecting with family would have meant plugging a pay phone with quarter after quarter, and we were distant in many more ways than just miles. I learned to talk to God constantly, and I learned that He really would get me through the day, no matter what it brought. I learned that He really does take care of the sparrows, and I was certainly a small terrified bird. I was in an abusive alcoholic marriage, and although I left often, I really did not see any real way out. Upon reflection, I marvel at how I got through that deep, pitch-black valley. But step by step He walked me through it, and now it is just a surreal memory. If you think you're alone through the challenges we are facing, I am going to say flat out: you are wrong. Sharpen your eyes and look for the little things He is doing for you each and every day.
Gratitude is a force of nature. It can chase away the shadows of depression and self-pity. Inventiveness comes from seeing all we are blessed with.
2. Eat like a peasant to eat well. And continuing on this topic of food, I learned to make dishes that are the staples of poor people around the world. Library books are free, and there I would check out cook books. We were 'vegan' far before it was cool, because rice and beans filled up little tummies. Apples and bananas are consistently the cheapest fruit in the store. Powdered milk can come in handier than you think, and makes no difference in baking. It can be mixed half and half with regular milk, or one can simply develop a taste for it, as I have. Think dishes like Spanish rice, Hungarian goulash, potato soup, cornbread, gravy on biscuits, spaghetti, breakfast for dinner, Asian fried dishes made with leftover vegetables and meat or egg. It should be noted that traditional Asian cuisine features meat as a flavoring or an accent, not as a main element. We're not talking fancy gluten free diets here; we are talking subsistence until things get better. We lived on things like tuna casseroles, and shepherd pies, where you combine browned hamburger with a can of soup and some vegetables, then put mashed potato on the top with some grated cheese if you have it, and pop it in the oven.
My Campbell's cookbook has torn pages from being used--and loved--so much. Most of the recipes I tried with great success, except for the recommended 'tomato soup' cake...which I wouldn't recommend.
Here is kind of what I do, written down in a much more organized way. It comes from the book, 'The Tightwad Gazette' by Amy Dacyczyn.
The Universal Casserole
(the way to use up odd collections of leftovers for yet another meal)
1 cup main ingredient
1 cup secondary ingredient
1-2 cups starchy ingredient
1 1/2 cups binder
1/4 cup "goodie"
Seasoning
Topping
Main ingredient suggestions: tuna, cubed chicken, turkey, ham, seafood.
Second ingredient suggestions: thinly sliced celery, mushrooms, peas, chopped hard-cooked eggs.
Starchy ingredient suggestions: thinly sliced potatoes, cooked noodles, cooked rice.
Binder suggestions: cream sauce, sour cream, can of soup (cream of mushroom, tomato, cream of celery or chicken.)
"Goodie" suggestions: pimento, olives, almonds, water chestnuts.
Topping suggestions: potato chips, cheese, bread crumbs.
Thoroughly mix your combinations of the above ingredients. If it seems dry, add 1/4 milk or stock or even water. Place in buttered casserole dish and back at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, until bubbly.
(I rarely use "goodies" in my casseroles, since they are expensive, except I do splurge on hard cheese.)
Simple Goulash
Cooked macaroni (you decide how much you want to use, depending on your family size. I use about the amount you would find in a box of mac and cheese.)
Tomato sauce
Paprika, salt and pepper to taste
Browned Hamburger with Onion (you don't need much)
After you brown your hamburger with onion, drain off the grease. Add the cooked macaroni and then add the tomato sauce. I typically use a couple of cans, but this will depend on how much macaroni you have cooked. Add seasonings and heat through. A can of corn can be added, but it is quite good without it.
Think whole foods instead of prepared ones. A plump fresh orange is far healthier, and cheaper, than a glass of orange juice made from concentrate. The only canned foods I still stock up on are canned creamed soups for hot dishes, any sort of canned tomato product (sauce, diced tomatoes, or paste) and cans of fruit. During tough times, we didn't have potato chips or pretzels or--God forbid--soda pop. Homemade banana bread or oatmeal cookies would be our snacks. This is not a time for pickiness for children--or adults. Buy some lemon juice for about a dollar and use it to make some homemade lemonade for an occasional treat. But a pitcher of chilled water, from the tap, was--and continues to be--our main beverage.
When I couldn't afford baby food, I would cook instant oatmeal mixed with milk, (powdered milk would work great with this) or I would make homemade rice pudding for baby where I lowered the amount of sugar. Most of the casseroles we had for dinner would be cooled to lukewarm and then went into the blender for my babies...this method wound up to be preferable to jarred foods, as I realized it was cheaper and free of preservatives.
3. Integrity is free, but precious beyond belief. There are few things as humiliating as being unable to pay one's bills. If there is a silver lining to all this, however, it is that the entire world is going through similar hard times, too, and this is not your fault. Use this tough time as a test of your self-control and self-respect. Don't let anyone think that you are not a person of your word. If bills are behind, make sure to talk personally with the bill collector. I began this policy in 1989, when my husband and I split up for the last time, and I had $10 to my name. I will admit that it has gotten more difficult to make money arrangements as things have gotten more and more bureaucratized. I struggle currently with settling medical payments. However, the alternative of burying one's head in the sand and pretending the bills will just go away only leads to being turned over to a collection agency, a place no one wants to be. There is no shame in asking for public assistance if you truly need it, but try to polite, patient, and calm. Preserve your dignity. This is a time you are going to get through, but no one wants to remember that they handled adversity by screaming at someone at the front desk.
4. Don't panic, get organized. Now is the time to get resourceful. Now is the time to see what you really have, as opposed to focusing only on what is lost. Maybe selling things in the over-stuffed garage would bring in more grocery money or pay a back house payment. Maybe it's time to inventory what is at the bottom of the chest freezer or in the corner of the pantry and make a few weeks of frugal meal plans with what you already have. Maybe it's time to plant a garden, or look for sales on bulk food. Maybe there are clothes that just need a little mending, or can be handed down to a younger child. What could you do without, what could you sell, what do you need to buy? What could you make do with, or what could you stretch for a little longer? Or even better yet, what can you make yourself? I make my own salad dressings, barbecue sauce, granola instead of boxed cereal, and I can vegetable and fruit produce whenever I receive it. I don't have a sewing machine, so I sew by hand. I dilute all of my soaps...laundry soap, dishwashing soap, and hand soap, and it still works as well, while saving a great deal of money.
Organization and cleanliness are not frivolous time wasters, the behaviors of crazy neat freaks. They are qualities that literally smooth out your life and stretch your resources. Now more than ever, take care of what you have. Study the values of the people during the Great Depression and learn their strategies. There is a saying that clean houses and clean cars require fewer repairs, and I wholeheartedly believe this is true. I cannot count the times I have saved us money--sometimes hundreds of dollars--because I could pull up an old receipt or warranty. All because I devote a couple of hours a week to filing. Keep your home clean and neat, and keep a tidy schedule of to-dos for your family that regularly get checked off. When I was a teenage mom, one thing that helped alleviate some fear was creating structure in my day. Consistent nap times, meal times and play times helped me anchor to the reality of the present moment, instead of pacing around in fear.
We will get through this, and who knows what lessons we might learn, and how much stronger we will be when this is over? I think teenage me would agree, and then she would turn up her George Michael 'Faith' album.
Being a teenage mom was undoubtedly the biggest hurdle I ever faced, and there was nothing glamorous about it, no matter what the reality shows say. Looking back, I can't believe we even survived. Tough times change you, and it is up to each of us to decide if it will be for the better or for the worse. I know what it is like to face an angry landlord wanting his three months of back rent; I know what it is like to look outside and see that the truck has been repossessed. I know what is like to live in a motel room, to cook only in an electric skillet because the gas had been shut off, to have only rice for supper. I've washed my share of cloth diapers without a washer on premises and used bread sacks for plastic diaper covers. One of my infant sons slept in a stuffed chair shoved up to the bed so he wouldn't fall out. I walked to the grocery store almost every day for years with my children in tow, because driving really wasn't much of a possibility until my children were in elementary school. Everything learned the hard way has left its mark on me and shaped how I react to every current crisis. As this nation copes with joblessness and fears of the future, I am strangely compelled to consult my younger self for advice. This hapless girl stumbled onto wisdom without even knowing it. This is what she has to share.
 |
| My son is in a stroller we rescued from a dumpster. His little overalls are too short, but they still fit around his waist, so they are still being worn. No shoes, and I am shielding his little face from the sun with my hand. |
1. Find your faith and grab on tight.
Start to ask deeper questions about your purpose in life and why this situation might be happening to you. Ask yourself if this might be a perfect opportunity to reassess what you have chosen as your idols. Everybody is made to worship someone or something, and often it is not the true God. Maybe you've relied on your job or your bank balance to give you your sense of worth. I had to realize this lesson the toughest way possible--when I was just a lost high school kid who's only prior knowledge of the 'real world' was Michael Jackson videos. It is said there are no atheists in fox-holes. I cannot express to you how scared I was during those years, how helpless I felt hundreds of miles away from friends and family, with no money, no stable home, no sure way to even feed my babies, and a husband who brought more harm than help. Our money problems were largely caused by my late husband's hard core drinking problem. There were no cell phones; connecting with family would have meant plugging a pay phone with quarter after quarter, and we were distant in many more ways than just miles. I learned to talk to God constantly, and I learned that He really would get me through the day, no matter what it brought. I learned that He really does take care of the sparrows, and I was certainly a small terrified bird. I was in an abusive alcoholic marriage, and although I left often, I really did not see any real way out. Upon reflection, I marvel at how I got through that deep, pitch-black valley. But step by step He walked me through it, and now it is just a surreal memory. If you think you're alone through the challenges we are facing, I am going to say flat out: you are wrong. Sharpen your eyes and look for the little things He is doing for you each and every day.
Gratitude is a force of nature. It can chase away the shadows of depression and self-pity. Inventiveness comes from seeing all we are blessed with.
 |
| Making homemade spaghetti sauce for the freezer, pennies per serving. |
Here is kind of what I do, written down in a much more organized way. It comes from the book, 'The Tightwad Gazette' by Amy Dacyczyn.
The Universal Casserole
(the way to use up odd collections of leftovers for yet another meal)
1 cup main ingredient
1 cup secondary ingredient
1-2 cups starchy ingredient
1 1/2 cups binder
1/4 cup "goodie"
Seasoning
Topping
Main ingredient suggestions: tuna, cubed chicken, turkey, ham, seafood.
Second ingredient suggestions: thinly sliced celery, mushrooms, peas, chopped hard-cooked eggs.
Starchy ingredient suggestions: thinly sliced potatoes, cooked noodles, cooked rice.
Binder suggestions: cream sauce, sour cream, can of soup (cream of mushroom, tomato, cream of celery or chicken.)
"Goodie" suggestions: pimento, olives, almonds, water chestnuts.
Topping suggestions: potato chips, cheese, bread crumbs.
Thoroughly mix your combinations of the above ingredients. If it seems dry, add 1/4 milk or stock or even water. Place in buttered casserole dish and back at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, until bubbly.
(I rarely use "goodies" in my casseroles, since they are expensive, except I do splurge on hard cheese.)
 |
| Cooking in our first mobile home. I was so proud of it. |
Simple Goulash
Cooked macaroni (you decide how much you want to use, depending on your family size. I use about the amount you would find in a box of mac and cheese.)
Tomato sauce
Paprika, salt and pepper to taste
Browned Hamburger with Onion (you don't need much)
After you brown your hamburger with onion, drain off the grease. Add the cooked macaroni and then add the tomato sauce. I typically use a couple of cans, but this will depend on how much macaroni you have cooked. Add seasonings and heat through. A can of corn can be added, but it is quite good without it.
Think whole foods instead of prepared ones. A plump fresh orange is far healthier, and cheaper, than a glass of orange juice made from concentrate. The only canned foods I still stock up on are canned creamed soups for hot dishes, any sort of canned tomato product (sauce, diced tomatoes, or paste) and cans of fruit. During tough times, we didn't have potato chips or pretzels or--God forbid--soda pop. Homemade banana bread or oatmeal cookies would be our snacks. This is not a time for pickiness for children--or adults. Buy some lemon juice for about a dollar and use it to make some homemade lemonade for an occasional treat. But a pitcher of chilled water, from the tap, was--and continues to be--our main beverage.
When I couldn't afford baby food, I would cook instant oatmeal mixed with milk, (powdered milk would work great with this) or I would make homemade rice pudding for baby where I lowered the amount of sugar. Most of the casseroles we had for dinner would be cooled to lukewarm and then went into the blender for my babies...this method wound up to be preferable to jarred foods, as I realized it was cheaper and free of preservatives.
3. Integrity is free, but precious beyond belief. There are few things as humiliating as being unable to pay one's bills. If there is a silver lining to all this, however, it is that the entire world is going through similar hard times, too, and this is not your fault. Use this tough time as a test of your self-control and self-respect. Don't let anyone think that you are not a person of your word. If bills are behind, make sure to talk personally with the bill collector. I began this policy in 1989, when my husband and I split up for the last time, and I had $10 to my name. I will admit that it has gotten more difficult to make money arrangements as things have gotten more and more bureaucratized. I struggle currently with settling medical payments. However, the alternative of burying one's head in the sand and pretending the bills will just go away only leads to being turned over to a collection agency, a place no one wants to be. There is no shame in asking for public assistance if you truly need it, but try to polite, patient, and calm. Preserve your dignity. This is a time you are going to get through, but no one wants to remember that they handled adversity by screaming at someone at the front desk.
 |
| Ironing borrowed maternity blouses. |
Organization and cleanliness are not frivolous time wasters, the behaviors of crazy neat freaks. They are qualities that literally smooth out your life and stretch your resources. Now more than ever, take care of what you have. Study the values of the people during the Great Depression and learn their strategies. There is a saying that clean houses and clean cars require fewer repairs, and I wholeheartedly believe this is true. I cannot count the times I have saved us money--sometimes hundreds of dollars--because I could pull up an old receipt or warranty. All because I devote a couple of hours a week to filing. Keep your home clean and neat, and keep a tidy schedule of to-dos for your family that regularly get checked off. When I was a teenage mom, one thing that helped alleviate some fear was creating structure in my day. Consistent nap times, meal times and play times helped me anchor to the reality of the present moment, instead of pacing around in fear.
"Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice." – Wayne Dyer
We will get through this, and who knows what lessons we might learn, and how much stronger we will be when this is over? I think teenage me would agree, and then she would turn up her George Michael 'Faith' album.
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