A good thing happened today.....

I got a comment on my new Facebook page today about being honest. Yes that's me and my blog. If I am doing this for me and not an imaginary audience then I will be honest and record the good and the bad and the dirty little bits, lol. For me this is sharing our journey and as everyone knows any journey with kids is like a roller coaster with it's ups and down and those 360 twists that make you want to throw up..... So some real honesty my husband and I are both teachers. Since meeting and having kids we have nearly always had two incomes. I went back to work when J was 6 months just one day a week. The next year I worked two days a week while pregnant with A and then stopped halfway through. Maternity leave paid for the rest of the year. The following year I worked one day a week again for the full year. The next year I was pregnant with L and for the first time in my teaching career I was not allocated a school. With schools being independent and more having a selection system it was getting harder. The good thing was though I was so sick during that pregnancy I don't think it would have been possible to work. I got the Government maternity allowance which did help but we had to watch our budget. We had bought our first house the year before so we now had a mortgage to think of. At the end of the year money was really running tight and Christmas was approaching. Over the years I had worked casually in retail to help out as it meant working while hubby watched the kids. So the Christmas of 2011 I got a job as a casual at Myer. L was fully breastfed and it was tricky working my hours around her and expressing enough for bottles. I was working a few long shifts which meant me sitting in the Parents room expressing in front of customers....awkward! The money though was great as it really helped at a time when we needed it. Big bills were coming in and we knew the next 3 months were tricky. Rates, water rates, insurances, Regos and more were all due soon. The contract ended early Feb which meant no more extra money. It was also the time when school goes back. Uniforms,fees,shoes, bags etc etc. Oh the joys. It was also at this time that I was back and forth to see our Paed as we were becoming more and more concerned with L. 9 months old and not eating or sitting and losing weight. Doctors bill were coming in and now we had medical tests to do. When you pay $110 for the Paed you rush straight to Medicare to get the rebate as then the next bill comes in. Now we had X-rays and blood tests to pay for. I asked how much they would be if we were done privately at SKG....$120 for the x-rays and about $70 for each blood test and pay on the spot. Well at that time we didn't have a spare few hundred lying around. We were living paycheck to paycheck and still grappling with the extra costs of school for J and kindy for A. We ended up getting her tests done at PMH. The x-rays cost $40 and the bill was sent a few weeks later and the blood tests were done for free. She also had two swabs taken and those were free. Who knows what the total cost would have been otherwise. I just don't understand how if we are supposedly middle income, not poor not rich and we struggle to pay for these things how do people on one low income or single parents pay? I mean really we had a child's life at stake and even the public system asks you to pay for things. Private health doesn't cover it so why are we paying for that each month? I spent a while discussing this with a friend saying we have never been at this low a point financially. I have never not worked. I had been on paid maternity leave or worked part time. How can you physically stretch the budget any more? We had cut back on all spending. Our grocery bill got down to $200 a fortnight. We cut our union fees, our petrol use, compared prices on insurance etc etc. It didn't help. This time of the year was all about annual bills and the unexpected medical costs were crippling us. It was the little things too.....the petrol from driving more than 80kms a day. The extra trips to the hospital, and the parking fees, trying to pack lunch for A as we couldn't buy it if out. It was all adding up. To all those out there doing it tough I commend you. It places a strain on your marriage and you relationship as a family. It brings you down. It reduces your feeling of self worth. You have to say no to people and friends. Limit going out or taking your kids places. Not having the money to buy those nice clothes for the kids in winter. No special treats when going out. Trying to buy birthday presents so your child can attend his friends party. Money makes and breaks the world..... So today I got some news. News that made me dance. Literally. I picked up A and danced around the living room. My hands shook. I couldn't dial the phone. Hubby wouldn't answer so I rang my best friend just bursting with the news. 3 months ago in the first week of February we applied for the Centrelink Carers Adjustment Payment. They paid up to $10,000 in the event of a life changing accident or diagnosis for your child. The application was a bit long winded but well worth it. Today they called and told us we we successful and the money was already in the bank. Today the bank account was $0. L had medication to buy and it cost $56 for 2 things :( Pay day is next Thursday and what to do in the meantime? So this phone call was life changing. It means being able to survive for a little bit longer, I won't say how much we got as I consider money itself a personal topic but I breathed a sigh of relief. The bank balance won't go into the negative. We can buy A some new equipment. Now to focus on L. While on the phone I explained that Miss L had been diagnosed as brain damaged and would I be bale to apply for anything in her name? The silence on the end lasted a second, Oh no not 2 she said? Yes I said 2 out of 3 now you understand why I said your phone call meant so much to me! So please if you are caring for a child check out if you are eligible. Go to Centrelink and make sure you get every entitlement possible. Carers get a health care card which if back dated we can get that $56 script reduced to the concession rate :) After 6 months of holding our breath and treading water I sighed. I let it out. I relaxed. I smiled. I felt like me. My girls can have their Mum back, my husband sees me again and I can look forward.