My Mom Don't Make Enough Food

hi i'm jennifer so an average teenager living with her parents my childhood was amazing the three of us lived well enough with my father working in the fields and my mother taking care of the household but my blissful life didn't last the drought arrived like every year in the rural town i lived in the wallets of the small community dried up as well over those three months of drought people went less to the store to buy food because they could not afford it teachers used their small amounts of money to buy snacks for those kids who went hungry but soon their wallets dried up as well but my parents always made sure i believed everything was okay what i did not know is that my father during that time would sneak out at night when i was sound asleep to work the night shift as a postman and come back just in time to sleep one hour before going to his day job and my mother would wash people's clothing for money until her hands cracked and her knuckles bled they did everything to make sure my lunches weren't scarce and i didn't suspect a single thing they were scared to introduce me to poverty every year i watched my mom do something very interesting every once in a while she and my father would take the money they saved up and after buying a big load of vegetables my mother would cook enormous amounts of delicious hot tomato soup her specialty she would open the doors to our house and feed everyone that came by families with many kids kids alone old folks everyone the community came alive and happy on those days as everyone would huddle up in our front yard and talk as they enjoyed my mom's doing she was the most generous soul around and not only does she never let me starve but she never let anyone starve as well years went by and i grew older soon enough i began to realize that things were not what they seemed that my princess fairy tale was over and i needed to be confronted in the real world my parents eventually grew older and by the time i was in high school i was babysitting my neighbor's kids and my lunches soon grew scarce as well things got worse and worse my mom got sick incredibly sick money was not prevalent enough to afford her treatment we didn't even have enough to pay more than rent and food for the month she passed away before i left for college leaving me and my father to figure life out by ourselves my father was miserable he missed her every single day i always believed his heart was broken now i needed to stand on my own two feet i ended up going to college i had studied hard during my school years and had gotten a scholarship for college near my small town it was not harvard but it was good enough to give me a second chance my father was put into a retirement home so i was on my own on my own with no money with a void in my heart that i was not able to fix i studied and worked in order to afford the basic needs i had two jobs one at a fast food restaurant and i was also a babysitter my days went by between books kids and flipping burgers and that is how i went by i really missed my fantasy childhood having homemade lunches and living life with my only worry being what princess dressed to wear during the day i was tired it was a saturday afternoon but not a regular one it was my mother's birthday and for once i really looked forward to going home and getting a good lunch every year i would save up enough to buy myself a special lunch on her birthday almost as if it was a sort of gift it was usually one of the only full meals i had that week as everything i could afford to cook at home was rice and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches i walked home dragging my feet under the sun i looked around me kids were playing in the playground laughing and screaming in their little fantasy world looking after them tired parents falling asleep on park benches i was looking forward to my meal i had to study all night and i hadn't eaten anything the night before i just wanted to sit down and eat and finally get a rest from my crazy life i tried to keep my energy as i walked home but my march was becoming slower as i passed the gas station i noticed something i hadn't seen in a while a girl was sitting on the curb with her head to her knees beside her what looked like her only possessions laid in supermarket bags her hair was messy and so were her clothes and she looked exhausted and cold i quickly noticed the sign she had next to her feet i need money i'm homeless she reminded me of my old hometown i would see people like her every passing season people who had lost all their hope and had no one to help them for a brief moment our eyes met i shook my head and fixed my gaze forward now is not the time for distractions i have work to do and can't do it on an empty stomach my home was close and so i rushed there before i had time to think of something else i sat down and opened my lunch the warmth reminded me of home for a moment i was that little girl again with no worries of the world i began to eat each swallow harder than the last i miss you mom i whispered as tears filled my eyes i stared at the warm food food i just couldn't eat before i knew it i was rushing back out out in the heat the girl was still there i approached her and placed a hand on her knees she looked at me how long have you been without food i asked she counted with her fingers till she said her face was sunken in my parents abandoned me a month ago i have been struggling to find somewhere to live and i ended up on the streets she explained memories came back to me like a flood moving out of my hometown and struggling never to the point of being homeless but fighting to afford rent every month and avoid eviction and taking prices at the supermarket to buy products at their cheapest price i nodded i understood her i looked at my food bag i was hungry starving even i had looked forward to the special restaurant cooked meal that i had worked so much for and also for the memories that it resembled however i remembered my mom how she made sure no one ever starved no matter what the situation was here i can share my lunch with you i offered sitting down next to her her eyes sparkled in seconds are you sure she asked i nodded with a smile studying could wait i sat down next to her and took out the small containers in one of them creamy pasta with shrimp in the other one a decadent piece of chocolate cake as she ate her first meal in two days she shared with me her life story i couldn't help but notice how much she was enjoying it she was taking every bite as if it was the last one and as much as i wanted to enjoy as well i knew what was the right thing to do you know you can have the whole meal i said her eyes widened no i can't accept that it's too much she said closing the containers i grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes which were glossy have it you need it more than i do as i left she grabbed my hand thank you i will pay you back one day she said and i smiled back i was happy as i went back home yes maybe now i didn't have lunch for myself and let me tell you the outcome was not easy skipping such a meal especially since i had avoided breakfast that day and dinner the night before in order to enjoy my special meals to the maximum had not worked in my favor i spent the next day relishing on the consequences of not eating which included almost fainting at work a grumbling stomach and extreme tiredness but helping that girl and making her less miserable left me satisfied better than any meal could i knew my mother especially on her birthday would have been proud time went by faster than i thought i worked and studied day in and day out saving up money little by little with my hard work i always made sure to help others and that helped my happiness grow with time i tried to continue my mother's legacy soon enough i graduated college my life was starting to make sense i found the love of my life and got married we had one daughter and she was the light of our eyes the blinding light at the end of the dark tunnel my father passed away soon after my daughter was born but he died happy i hadn't become any close to a millionaire but my life was comfortable enough and just like my childhood we lived in a small town in a small neighborhood in a cozy house that was perfect enough for the three of us then my daughter became sick all our savings went so fast i would never let my family suffer like i did never again with this determination i went for job after job no jobs wanted to take me in i walked into the job agency and my name was soon called a woman behind a desk asked me questions about my studies my background and my goals after a whole deal of talking she looked at me with a non-promising face your curriculum is amazing she said however and unfortunately we can't find any jobs that fit your profile i'm so sorry her words were blow to the back i sighed and buried my face in my hands my plan was failing i was for once very scared i was scared that i would not be able to give my daughter her fairytale life just like my parents had given me i refused to show my daughter the face of poverty suddenly someone put a hand on my shoulder i looked up and a woman close to my age was looking down at me she wore a black beautiful dress and the most expensive jewelry i had ever seen she smiled brightly i think i can arrange something for her she said the lady behind the desk nodded and quickly left and this mysterious woman sat in her place her eyes looked familiar the sparkle was something i had seen before but could not remember where i want to know about you she started tell me who are you she asked i looked at her with curious eyes this woman was mysterious she had appeared right at the moment when i thought everything was lost could i even trust this woman however something told me that i needed to tell so i set up straight and began telling her my story she listened intently to every single bit from my childhood to my college years to my adult life i told her about my parents about my mother and about how i wanted to be as generous and open-hearted as she once was about my daughter how i wanted her to live in a fantasy world she nodded and smiled every step of the story without interruptions she then asked me questions you know the typical formal questions of any job interview i answered truthfully this is when i thought i was going to lose my chance when i was done she looked at me you know she started i knew you wouldn't ever change she said with a bright smile i raised an eyebrow in confusion but before i could ask she continued i want to discuss working with you she finally said those words that sounded like heaven to my ears i would like to analyze giving you a position at the job agency you are determined and ambitious someone the agency definitely needs i sighed in relief and smiled i started crying everything was going to be fine thank you i cried out with a huge smile thank you so much i don't know how i'm ever going to pay you back i said you don't have to she answered after all i told you i would pay you back one day i looked at her with confusion but we have never met before what do you have to pay me for she took my hand a few years ago i was homeless abandoned and hungry you found me sitting at the curb of a gas station and gave me the only lunch you had instead of keeping it to yourself you were my only glimpse of hope when i was abandoned by my own parents you saved me i was eternally grateful my mind went blank images of that event were very vivid she was the reason i wanted to be like my mother always she had been a girl like me she knew what struggle looked like what hunger looked like let's discuss the rest of it over dinner what do you think i accepted her invitation i started small and worked my way up played it safe never letting my ambitions get the better of me then as my daughter recovered and we were stable i began getting more involved taking bigger risks bringing her with me so i could teach her what i learned she made herself at home and helped me in whatever ways she could i know my mom would be proud we organized big charity dinners and raised money to help during the drought after some years the job agency even decided to make a big donation to a homeless shelter that took care of everyone in my small community during the drought i gave a big enormous check to the owner of the shelter in an official announcement that made it on television everything around me began to make sense finally i was back at my old home but i was not that little girl anymore i could make a difference and that's what i did

Channel: My Story Animated

Views: 1,843,903

Rating: 4.897007 out of 5

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Id: c3Xgv5bAFH8

Length: 13min 39sec (819 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 26 2020