Open letter to my spouse

Dearest Husband,

If you don't want to call your mother and ask her for financial help ~ then GET A JOB.

I love you. I love that you are staying home with our girls. I love that you are able to keep them at home and that you do the laundry, and try to keep the house clean, and occasionally have meals cooking when I get home.

I appreciate everything you do, and I'm so glad that at least one of us has the opportunity to be at home while our girls are so young.

That being said - we are broke. I know that you know this & there is no huge breaking news in that statement, but we are. I think you know how broke we are, but I'm not sure that you fathom the depth that is that brokedness. When I put off paying the light bill it's because I had to have gas to get back and forth to work, or because our daughter's needed diapers for their cute little tushies. I don't play with the timing of our cable bill for fun ~ I don't want to see what would happen if Sesame Street was unavailable for the month ~ I want to make sure that we have enough money to buy the groceries to keep our daughter fed. When I buy the cheap paper towels, it's not to drive you insane ~ it's so that we have another $3 available to buy more bread or cereal. And yes, I refuse to buy harsh toilet paper. If I have to cut every other luxury out of my life I am at least going to be comfortable when I wipe damnit.

You've told me before that you would get a part time job in the evenings to help us out ~ well it's time to step up & pitch in financially. We don't need much extra a month, just a few hundred for groceries and gas money. I would love to have a bit to buy clothes for the girls (or God forbid - myself) but for right now, I just want to be able to stop juggling bill money around & be able to buy groceries without having to pray that the debit card clears.

Please help me out with this. I know that I ask a lot of you & that you are tired by the end of the day ~ but please, don't make me be the one who has to work a second job. If I have to miss any more time with my girls I think - no - I know that I would wind up resenting you, and that would severely damage our marriage.

Either suck it up & continue to sell your soul & ask your mother for help, or go find a job. No more "looking online" or posting online for jobs, after 3 months with no nibbles it's obviously NOT working. Get out, go to the stores and fill out applications.

I love you & I want to keep loving you. All I'm asking is for 20 or 25 hours a week, for you to leave and help our family financially. I need this. We need this.

Your Loving (and desperately stressed) Wife