Middle-class America. The sweet spot between scraping to get by and financial superiority. Also, the spot where most people in America thrive. But as a child growing up in middle-class America, with both parents working an abundance of hours to get by, there are some challenges we face.
Growing up, a majority of the female population waits eagerly for the day that they can turn babysitting into cash. But in some families, babysitting a younger sibling is anything but another way to earn cash. With both parents working just to put food on the table and to keep a roof over your head, not every family can afford childcare. This makes it so some Fridays, going out with friends is not an option.
In other, more serious cases, filling out field trip permission slips or other school-related papers can be a hassle. Writing that you don't have health insurance on a form, or having to tell someone that you don't have health insurance, simply because your family cannot afford it, is one of the most stressful situations. And then, to have some people find it humorous that you don't have health insurance makes it even worse. No, Todd, it's not funny at all.
But perhaps the most devastating part of growing up in some middle-class American households is that some kids are deprived of milestone moments that are meant to be shared with parents. There are times, as a child, when dad cannot make it to the daddy-daughter dance or mom cannot make it to the mother and son dance. There are other times when you show up to your sporting events by yourself because neither parent can attend. There are times when you have to get ready for school dances by yourself, and when you have to have someone else's parent zip up your prom dress because your mom cannot be there. And there are times when your dad cannot make it to your graduation because the thought of missing work is debilitating.
These are the moments when we start to envy other families. The families with stay at home moms or dads, the families who can control their work hours or afford to take the time off of work. But despite these brief periods of time, I am grateful for the way that I was raised and all of the experiences and love that I received. I was raised with integrity because I was always encouraged by my parents to stand by my moral and ethical values. I was raised to be selfless and empathetic because, even we didn't have everything we wanted, we made sure someone else had what they needed. I was raised to be independent and adventurous, kind and loving.
Every important moment and meaningful conversation was never taken for granted. There is an unwavering trust I have built with my parents over the years because of every trait they taught and raised me to have. So even though there are times when having parents that seem to work for decades at a time can be rough, the payoff is far greater than anything else.
