The Great Recession

I grew up with money. We lived in a nice two-story house on a big chunk of quiet woods, got to take frequent trips to foreign countries and always got nice new clothes in the fall before school started. Growing up, I knew that money was not necessary for happiness and a frequent prayer I had was to ask God that no matter what, I most wanted to have happiness in my life and to be with those I loved. I went as far as to pray that I would much rather be happy than to have money. To be poor and happy was a better life than to be rich and lonely. I still think I'm right in that belief, and I think God has really taken me up on that deal. But even though I knew that fancy cars and nice houses weren't necessary, I still kind of figured I would someday own some kind of house, and maybe even have a little money left over for family trips to the beach. On that thought, I was mistaken.
So, I went to college and "followed my heart" to major in the liberal arts instead of the hard sciences my teachers always pushed me towards. I majored in journalism, and I was pretty good at it too. The problem is, you can't really make a living on writing these days. I had my first child and faced a dilemma: Is it really worth it to put my children in the hands of strangers so I can bring home a whopping $11 bucks an hour!? Half that would go to pay daycare, plus I would lose about $3,000 in the first year of my child's life in formula costs if I couldn't stay home and breastfeed. I quit my job, took on a part-time writing job from home and got on WIC for the first time. Since then, we have had to move across the country twice in pursuit of jobs and have been on and off benefits.
My husband also majored in liberal arts with the goal to be a teacher. We were committed to making a life that revolved around family time instead of big bucks and trips to Europe. But seven years and two kids later, he is now back in school to become a lawyer instead. Our savings had dwindled to $20 bucks and we were tired of having to pick up and move every year. So here we are. He can't work while in school, and I'm trying my hardest to find jobs I can do from home while watching the kids.
There are nearly 40 million Americans on food stamps. That's 1 in every 8 people. And what's worse is that 1 in 3 eligible people aren't using them. To be honest, we have never not been eligible for benefits, but in times when we are able to, we preferred to tread water on our own instead. Now, we figure we can live in debt to family, the government or the credit card corporations. Our families help us, but we don't want to burden them too much as they are facing the possibility of not having enough money in savings for retirement.
So that's it. That's how we are here and we are not alone. All across the country there are families that don't fit the stereotype of poverty. And the way things are looking, they will probably get worse before they get better.