A lot of sick, tired and stress has sapped my blogging and writing mojo in general.

I have made a commitment to go back to school to better learn to market myself and have that degree behind me.

The rejection of the job market and the constant stress of making ends meet has sucked the life right out of me.

A friend of mine linked to a FB site that has lit a fire inside me and hopefully will renew my optimism: The Face of the 99%

I am hoping that knowing so many people are in similar positions to myself and my family will help me.

We are only holding on because we have so many good people in our lives that help out. Our family members that help don’t even know the amount of rejection and hardship we have faced. My husband and I put on a happy face and make it seem like things are ok.

We try everyday. We hear ‘no’ everyday. We fear losing more everyday. A bit of us dies everyday.

Here is my contribution to The Face of the 99%:

I am a wife.

I am a mother.

I am a student.

I am a volunteer.

I am a hard worker.

I am a good friend.

I am unemployed.

I have worked since the day I could legally work. I have paid many years of taxes and social security. I have paid my bills and helped others pay theirs. I made a choice two years ago to quit my job for my newborn son’s welfare. Paying for his daycare would be too expensive since he was premature. With two other kids, it just seemed to be a better decision to cut our spending so I could stay at home with the kids.

A year later my husband lost his job. He did not qualify for unemployment. He put in hundreds of applications and sent out his resume but he could not find anything. We took a chance on a lifetime dream of his and took out our retirement to have as savings. As the economy got worse and the government came out with new laws on that industry, our savings melted away and we were left with nothing.

After over a year of barely paying bills, almost losing our house and constantly looking for work we finally broke down and applied for Medicaid and food stamps. It was not an easy decision but we needed help and after a combined 35 years of paying into the system, I think we have paid for the assistance we get now.

I have put in over 65 applications in the past six months at places that tell me I am over-qualified because of my experience, sent out my resume to 40 different companies for jobs similar to the one I held before. I have not received one offer.

My husband has sent out almost 250 resumes in two years for jobs like the one he had, even ones with an hour or two commute, along with over 50 applications in the past six months to places he is apparently over-qualified to work. He has had one job offer. For a position with an 80 mile roundtrip commute, at minimum wage for 4 hours, 5 days a week. Unfortunately, we crunched the numbers and the paycheck would barely pay for gas to get there and back.

I am not a freeloader.

I am not uneducated.

I am no longer going to keep quiet.

I AM the 99% and my voice counts!