But I Smile Anyway…

Linda’s prompt for SoCS this week:

Today is January 23rd, so this is the 23rd prompt for Just Jot it January 2022, and it’s brought to us by Wendy. Thanks, Wendy! Please be sure to visit her blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 23rd, 2022, is “surviving.” Use the word “surviving” any way you’d like. Have fun!

When I think of the word surviving, so many things come to mind, like the last surviving member of a family, surviving a horrific event, or surviving, day to day, in life.

Right now, surviving is what so many people are struggling to do. Surely, we shouldn’t be living in survival mode, in a first world country?

But with the way the economy is going, here, with the cost of living rising at an alarming rate, and wages and salaries not matching up to these increases at all, there is a real risk of many folks, choosing between food and heat, or forgoing basic things in order to afford something for the family.

It scares me, too.

I am lucky to be in a job, where, unless I did something awful, there is not much likelihood of me being made redundant, but even so, I see the rise in the cost of the weekly groceries, energy bills, the Council Tax, etc, and it is alarming.

Each month it feels like we are working to live, and even our living is of a much more frugal nature than we may have been displaying a couple of years ago. And I still have a decent wage coming in.

Brexit (yes, I hugely blame you!) and the pandemic have had a horrific effect on the livelihoods of many. Far too many small businesses have not survived this time. Even bigger concerns have seen store closures or felt the need to reduce workforces.

This all impacts livelihood.

I see it at work, in the faces of some parents who are struggling to go from day to day, unsure whether to buy new shoes for their child, who has outgrown their last pair, or get dinner for the family.

Yes, for some, it is that bad.

Survival mode has kicked in for many unfortunate souls.

What a horrible situation…

https://lindaghill.com/2022/01/23/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-23rd-2022/

Linda’s prompt for SoCS this week:

Your prompt for #JusJoJan and my very first birthday-Stream-of-Consciousness-Saturday is: “icing on the cake.” Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the phrase “icing on the cake.” Enjoy!

The icing on the cake is most certainly a phrase that tends to describe events or things that are beyond belief, and that is usually in a negative way, rather than a positive, or, in my experience anyway.

For example:

We had a bit of a crazy week at school with staffing, plus there were absences, with the children, due to there being a vomiting bug. Of course, there are times we have to clean up after sickness incidences, especially if they happen in our classrooms. To add to this, the icing on the cake was also having to remove a dead baby mouse from the playground – bleurgh! And the cherry on top? A poopy nappy, right at the end of the day!