Moving down a level in America?

I grew up in a middle class family. My father worked six days a week. Mother stayed home and raised her children. Trying to keep the same lifestyle is getting harder. Sue and I have been married for twenty years, we have three children. Andrew is eighteen, Nicholas is sixteen and Hannah is eleven. The dream of being middle class is over.

I just took a job at a cannery, I am surrounded by my new class, the uninsured, and overworked. The job with all, is going away. I do not criticize my current employer, for they are having a hard time keeping employees. It is just a adjustment to be a semi -class citizen. We just cannot assume that we are entitiled to anything. Sue and I have been both working full time to full fill the middle class dream. Why do we reach for more and more and find out we are destined to fail.

I could get my old job back, and go back to that consumer driven status. I am cooking rice with beans, scourging around the cupboards for food. I can buy food, but then I cannot pay my bills. It is hard to adjust to the glacier effect of the fading economy. Their are people doing well, their are wealthy people too, I am not criticizing those who have. Dealing with children who want clothes, shoes, and other things is easy when your prosperous. Now I am "them" the complaints of Hannah not eating breakfast because their is no cereal,or special foods. The simple task of paying for a haircut, or other services.

I am surrounded by generous people,our piano teacher will not take any money till I am in a better place, we owe her five months of back pay for two children. The church gives us meat, Gleaner's trucks and the Methodist church provides us with adequate food every week. We are blessed with those who are in our circle. It just hurts physically, emotionally I am having a "cloud of depsair" follow me , I have no way of running away or solving the issues.

I think and know when I am older we will appreciate the finacial change in our life,the children understand they must get too thier own destinations by thier self. Working side by side with migrant workers,people like me I am learning. My cheerful coworkers who have had never had but have so much, maybe I can learn.