It's a long wait from mid December until the end of January. A long time between wage packets for those lucky enough to have wage packets. At the start of this New Year there are not many families who are not feeling the pinch . To pretend otherwise would be to ignore the reality that is life in Ireland this winter. The country is full of households where the heads are just above water but where there is an intense amount of frantic paddling underneath.
The front door voices of our minds are whistling past the graveyard while the reality is that vast majority are wondering if they will have enough to do the shopping for the basic groceries. And the resultant stresses and tensions that this brings has resulted in turmoil in houses and workplaces up and down this country as we face into yet another year of massive uncertainty.
More families than ever before are facing weeks of hardship as the first real bite of the recession takes hold post Budget. More mums and dads are counting the coins, hoping they will have enough to get through the day and then the next day. More families are hoping that there is no unexpected cost, no sick child needing a visit to the doctor, no frozen or burst pipes.
Because the vast majority of familes are now operating on the brink of financial survival, the constant chip-chip away at their income has seen the breadline come nearer and nearer. Those who have jobs feel lucky to have them and struggle to maintain their wages and conditions at the levels beyond which they feel they cannot cope. People are being let go in the most callous of circumstances. Some companies are taking advantage of the limited options and expect more while paying less and less. Banks are imposing ridiculous interest rate hikes on customers. A friend of mine went to work last week in a major employer, buoyed by the possibility of extra work only to ring his wife at breakfast time to say that he had been given an hour to clear his desk. Even in these cash-strapped and tension-filled times, there should still be room for dignity to be afforded to everyone. But often there is not.
Those who do not have work are thinking of the options ahead of them, scared at the prospect, now real, that they may have to do something completely different somewhere else to earn their crust, feed their families. And for many such a transition is not possible. For many, the age of emigration has passed, and so families are split and new units are created. Workaway Dads and Mums. Unplanned home parenting, the loss of items previously considered necessary, such as cars, pensions, TV subscriptions.
It is a bleak start to the New Year, one where the resolution is get by, to pay their way, to hope against hope that this might be the last winter they face like this.
It is a situation where we would all be forgiven for getting down, for being overwhelmed by the severity of it all. But what you all must remember is that you are not the only one. Just because you do not see your neighbours shedding tears does not mean they are not feeling the same intense pain, the same sense of desolation that this prosperous country which offered everything just a few short years ago, is now a place where hope is in short supply. I document these situations to illustrate that they are common, that your financial woes are not yours alone. Emboldened by these straitened circumstances, we are all hopeful that something will be done to improve our lot and that through it all, we maintain the determination that we will hold on to what truly matters, family, friends, dignity, respect, and the steely drive that together, we will all see our way through this. Hold on in there. Spring is around the corner. New times bring new opportunities and new thoughts.
