Um... yeah. It's been too long. Let's see if I can summarize what's been going on since December.
December
Morgan and Brenna turned 18. I started my new job then and my first check was huge! At least it felt that way after not having worked for so long. ;) Plus, I got it on Christmas Eve. Child support hadn't kicked in yet, and I had no bills to speak of at the time, so the entire check went to presents. It was a great Christmas.
The only down side in December regarded the benefit checks Morgan and Brenna received from their mother's disability (SSA). Since they were 18, I had to fill out paperwork so they would continue to receive that until they graduated. I got that paperwork turned in the day before it was due.
Another issue I felt was unfair was the state wanted to re-evaluate Morgan for his disability as an adult. He had been receiving monthly checks that we were using for rent and bills. It's what it was meant for, and I didn't feel he was remotely prepared for finding a normal job and dealing with the public. I filled out the paperwork to the best of my ability, going so far as to call my Ex and asking for information regarding any hospital, doctor, or clinic that would have paperwork on Morgan - because the disability wanted a full history of his disability (it was worded more for someone who suffered an accident than someone born like Morgan). I didn't feel comfortable with the what little I could offer, but I had to send in something else the State would simply rule him not disabled and the money would stop.
January
New Years wasn't very memorable. Yeah, we all stayed up till midnight, but no real party to speak of. Suddenly, we were back to school and work. Child Support kicked in and my checks suddenly got cut in half. Now, for those who live in other states, Texas doesn't do the 50% of your check bit. However, mine was complicated by my Ex having moved to Arkansas for a few years and Arkansas decided I wasn't paying enough. They pushed for almost 4x what I was paying. So, now, in an effort to pay back what I owe, my checks are being sliced into ribbons.
I received a letter from the AGO (Attorney General's Office). They wanted to see me about my child support in February. I literally expected to go there and be arrested for what I owed.
February
I went to the AGO meeting. I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't have officers waiting to cart me away. I was further surprised to find out that the Agent I spoke to wanted to reduce my monthly payments due to how much less I was getting now compared to when the last issuance occurred. The agent wanted to cut the amount I was paying per check almost in half! We called my Ex, verified she was okay with it, checked her address and such, and the agent sent her the paperwork to have her sign and notarized.
March
We had a semi-major accident in the apartment. One of the dogs wanted to chew up a scrubby in the bathroom. He pulled it off the knob for the water, which turned on the water. He had also accidentally closed the drain for the tub. As you can imagine: flood! It didn't fill the entire apartment. Only the adjacent bedroom was affected. It took a few days to dry it all up, but my daughter pointed out the horrible smell. I suffer from nasal polyps and cannot smell ANYTHING (I don't know how many times a day I have to remind everyone of this). She had the idea one day to hire carpet cleaners. According to her it didn't completely remove the smell, but it made a huge improvement.
March was also a down point at work. The call center had a point system for calling in sick -- and notes from Doctors made no difference. Here are the rules:
Call in more than two weeks before time needed off: No points deducted.
Call in less than two weeks, but more than 48 hours: 1/2 point per hour or partial hour deducted.
Call in less than 48 hours: 1 point per hour or partial hour deducted.
Don't call in: 2 points per hour deducted.
You start off with 30 points. In January, I missed one day and was hit for the whole day with 17 points. It wasn't supposed to happen. The head of all the managers told me to take the day off. It was a scheduling conflict. I was scheduled to work for the only company I had been trained to take calls for, but that company (a seasonal company) had closed and I would literally be sitting on the phones, getting paid to do nothing. The head of managers told me if I was pointed for the day, she would make sure it was taken care of personally.
During the month, I had to take a couple of days off to take my kids to respected doctor appointments and then there were two days I had to call in because I had the flu. I don't know about everyone else, but I would rather miss a day of work to rest up and not make everyone at work sick than to go in so as to not accrue points against me. The company, however, disagrees. They seem to think we should show up, sick or not, no matter what's going on. A car accident isn't a good enough excuse to circumvent the point system. I doubt death is.
April
At the beginning of the month, I was written up for points at work. This wasn't a simple slap on the wrist either. Another manager head (not the same person who I mentioned before) wanted to know from my supervisor why I had not been fired for accruing so many points. My supervisor said he stuck his neck out for me and had to give me a final notice on points. This was not the SOP for this. I was supposed to be verbally warned, have a first write up, a second write up, and then the final. I'm not sure why my Supervisor was ignoring my points, and I had been quietly praying they wouldn't notice (points roll off automatically 90 days after they're accrued). Suddenly I have this mark on my employment record that keeps me from being able to move up in the company at all.
The write up scared me. I suddenly felt like I couldn't miss any time at work. Not unless I could schedule it more than two weeks in advanced. So, I spoke to the only friend/acquaintance I have here about helping with the twins when they need to go to the doctor for anything, and she was okay with it.
April was also the big push for the Twins in school. Morgan had been struggling with a Programming class during the first semester. To the point that he failed it miserably. The second semester wouldn't be any easier, as the class would get into more complex programming. I realized that my son had problems with abstract thinking and problem solving. If he had something solid, real, to work with - such as lego blocks - then no problem, he could find a solution. Programming, however, is abstract. I went to a meeting in January to talk to some of the teachers and staff to find a solution. We decided to pull him from the class and put him in the Library and office help. It would also allow him time in school to work on anything from his other classes. It helped, but not quite enough.
Both of the Twins ended up attending what the school called Blue Ketchup (catch up). On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they would stay after school for an hour or so and catch up on what they needed to help their grades. The school provided buses to take kids home (for those who didn't have a driver's licence and a car). This helped both of the twins a lot.
We received a letter from the state regarding Morgan's Disability status. The state felt there wasn't enough "evidence" to prove Morgan to be disabled as an adult. He would receive three more disability checks, and that would be all.
The letter stated that we could appeal the decision. The real problem was I didn't find the letter until the last week of April, because my son had left the mail that day in the kitchen, under a stack of pot holders and such. I didn't know about it at all until then. The appeal, however, offered two options: first, appeal within 10 days to keep the payments going while they reviewed their decision (with any new info we provided) with the provision that if they decided against him again, any money beyond the three checks would have to paid back. Second, appeal within sixty days without the payments. Well, the 10 day run was already passed. So, I got the paperwork for the appeal and went looking for help this time.
May
The health clinics here in town where Morgan and Brenna had been going since they moved here (for six years now) offered such help. A case worker could fill out the paperwork for us, but Morgan (as a legal adult now) had to sign everything. We took care of the signatures, and she sent off the appeal with paperwork from the clinic covering Morgan's time there. Recently, I received a new letter from Social Security. Basically, they're looking for a reason we're appealing the decision.
The nightmare is I don't know if I can count on one last check from Morgan's disability at the end of this month. We received the original letter at the beginning of April. They said he would get three more checks. So, that would be April, May, and June. Each check hits at the end of the month. So, logically, we should see one more check hit on July first (for June). What scares me is that if this doesn't happen, I won't have enough money to cover rent, electricity, and water, because my checks are still being hammered by Child Support.
Oh, yeah. Back to that. Back in April, I realized that I should have started seeing Child Support backing off on my checks some. I called Child Support to find out what was going on. They told me that they never received the paperwork back from my Ex. I was sure the address and all had been right, but because so much time had passed since everything had been set up, they would have to pass it on to the courts to make a decision. I called my Ex. She said the paperwork she received was in the wrong name (she had changed her last name twice since we were divorced). The notary wouldn't sign off on her signature because the name on the papers didn't match the name on her ID. However, she had received a check or two already, and her name was correct on those! I called CS back. Told them what happened. They said it was too late. The case had been turned over to the courts. A court date would be set, and I would have to go in to find out what is decided. They would let me know when that would happen. I still haven't heard anything.
So, I believe this catches everyone up on what's been going on. Money is a nightmare. I have medical insurance that I cannot afford to use (not enough money for doctor visits, even though they're highly reduced by the insurance plan from work). I have few bills, but they're more than my meager wages can cover. My son's disability is probably about to end. My Ex probably lied about her name being wrong just so she would continue receiving more from child support than what the AGO wants to deduct. We'll probably lose the apartment, if not in July, then definitely in August. We don't have the money to move, much less rent anything to take our furniture anywhere. Finding help for the situation is impossible because the hours I work now are only when everything else is open (that offers such support). And finding a second job is a really stupid idea because child support will simply hammer that income too, making what I bring home almost negligible.
And here I was worried about planning and writing a book - much less several.
To be honest, if I would love to earn some money off the books I've written. But, why wound anyone want to read something they can get online for free? I've got a Patreon account, and I understand how it works, but without any real content, how do I generate followers? What do I do, point everyone to these first five books for free, and then force them to pay for chapters when I finish them on Patreon?
I hate the idea of doing that, but I've got to do something. I either have to find another job that pays way better than the call center, or I have to find another form of income that won't be hammered by Child Support. Seriously! I'm open to ideas, suggestions, and offers.