Hugs to you. I’m sorry you lost your father in such a rotten way.

I used to get them all the time when I was younger, and now only get one every other year, usually when I’m worn out and my immune system is low.

Oh jeesh do I know how you feel!!! Somehow we got it in our heads to turn our Barbies into paratroopers and throw them down from our climbing tree. I had read that parachutes were made of silk... so we raided my mom’s dresser, and pulled out grandma’s scarves to attach to the Barbies’ clothes with safety pins.…

Wow, good for you!!

After my dad died, things got bad. Not so much money but more that my mom’s mental health went off the rails - but regardless, it was the same result. I was off at college mostly, but my little sister was in high school. There were long periods in the winter when the pipes under the trailer would freeze and crack,…

That guy sounds like such an asshole!!

Yeah, that sounds really hard! Try to cut yourself some slack, please!

Ha!

Your last line resonates with me.

Lol, the Barbie metric!!

Ooh, the horse girls! My sister and I just helped our best friend host a birthday sleepover for her 10-year-old. There were 10 girls there, and they were all pretty sweet kids from a wide variety of backgrounds. But the two wealthiest kids wouldn’t stop talking about their dang horses and none of the other girls knew…

Oh yes... I will never forget the first Reeboks I got - I’d made the dance team and it was required for the uniform. It was my early birthday present that year and I felt so grateful to my parents.

Curious, have you ever stumbled on the Children of Hoarders website? I used to read their forums like crazy, about ten years ago - it was really useful for me.

That’s really interesting! I think I grew up with the exact opposite experience. I was from an odd couple - my mother had grown up very upper class, but when my grandmother died, she left every cent of family money to a cult. My dad grew up in a converted chicken coop, was the first one in his family to go to…

Many of my childhood friends were like you. My family was much more secure in comparison- we had secondhand clothes and a tiny rental, but we always had a car and never went hungry, even when my dad was laid off from his teaching job.

I get what you’re saying... but I will admit, as someone coordinates volunteers at a nonprofit, some folks are more of an additional burden than a help.

You should ease up! Coupon clipping ain’t where it’s at anymore.

My mom got Social Security orphan benefits for my sister because Sis was under 18 when our dad died (and my mom was unable to work for health reasons, though she never went on disability). I remember the pressure I put on myself as my sister’s graduation date neared - I knew that once she was out of school, the…

Yeah, my sister and I had a blast going through the American Girls catalogs. But oddly enough, we didn’t feel deprived because we knew it wasn’t an option at all. We just accepted the fact that the dolls and accessories were too expensive to actually own, but a person could enjoy the catalogs, and go to the library…

YES.