Time to make some dough

So my household has recently had a financial catastrophe visited on us. 

Actually, it wasn't exactly an act of God or something.  My mom, for reasons that seemed (and mostly were) good at the time, racked up an obscene amount in credit card debt.  

Now, there's nothing wrong with what she spent it on (which is not my place to disclose, not because it was bad, immoral or anything else; just not getting into it here); what was wrong was that in doing so she was spending far beyond her means based largely on money she hoped to be making this year.  

She has been quietly freaking out for the past month  because, as so often happens, the hopes were not bearing fruit on schedule. 

Unfortunately, this combined with her already-stressful job are really taking a toll on her.  To extents that I was unaware of (since she's been taking pains to hide this from me).  Upshot is, my mom suddenly needs a lot more help than I'd been giving her. 

Now, one of the reasons I live with her is precisely to make life easier for -- well honestly, for both of us.  But by me living with her, I can take care of most of the bills so she doesn't have to pay any, as well as handling various chores and errands for her, which allow her to focus on her job.  

I'll be honest: My primary focus in the past year or so HAS been to get on my own two feet and be entirely self-sufficient.  Having essentially put my life on hold in many ways for 11 years -- and then recovering from the aftermath of that time -- I really wanted to get out there and live the way I always wanted to.  

But I needed to deal with a few things first. My mom has been helping me with some of that. Other items included paying off some debts so I could get out there with a relatively clean slate. 

Well, it does look like those plans have taken a setback, because in order to keep my mom afloat, I've gotta get a second job now, the income from which will pretty much go to her credit card debt.  And in addition, because of the urgency of the matter, my pastoral counseling (which she was administering and which was one of the things I needed to complete before getting out) is on hold while we both hustle to build up some dough.  

Depending on the hours of said job, this may also cut into my writing time.  Which means THOSE plans are endangered, too.  And given the writing is how I intend to justify my existence, that's a scary thought.  

I'm optimist enough to know that it's all going to turn out okay.  Hell, this could be a huge opportunity in some ways. And I'm sure I can eke out an hour or so a night to keep plugging at the book.  

But the foreseeable future is going to be hellaciously busy. And I do so value my quiet time. So yeah, I'll have to admit I'm a little pissed at my mom right now. She really didn't think things through and that's never cool. But there's little I can do about it but step in and wear my man hat: my Provider and Protector hat. 

I just never thought I'd have to wear it for my bloody mother. Or that I would have to take it on so soon.  And I was kinda hoping I could have a little "fend for myself" time first.

Oh well.  But now you know what's going on, and if I'm around less, that's why.