As with a lot of young couples trying to raise a family, I worked in a dead end job to help make ends meet.  I worked evenings and my husband worked during the day. I saw my husband for just a couple of hours a day when we both fell in to bed after another hectic day.  Life should be more than this so we made the decision for me to give up working and find other ways to make our money work for us.

I started cooking from scratch, making homemade oven chips for pennies.  Fishcakes from leftover mash and a tin of tuna.  I grew in confidence and and taught myself to cook.  Dinner would be whatever fresh ingredients were on offer at the supermarket. Very soon we were eating so much healthier and enjoying our meals together instead of rushing them down so mummy could get off to work.  I started growing veg and making bread.  Learning ways to make our own soaps and toiletries.

Me being around all the time meant having free time to go out together and enjoying life as a family.  Soon we became the envy of our friends, living a lifestyle that they wanted…. something we hadnt even considered when we were worrying over the consequences of me leaving work.

Looking back now, after losing my darling daughter to a rare teenage cancer. I could never have guessed what sadness and loss fate was going to throw at me but I can be thankful that I was able to be at home all the time with the children and share the precious time we had together.  I cant change what happened but I can share how I plucked up the courage to change my whole lifestyle and maybe give someone else the push they need.
Shirley