New Struggles. New Journey.

Brad always interacted with his Mom, and watching the football games every Sunday while pigging out on chips and other snacks, while rooting for their favorite team. When football wasn’t on, Brad and his Mom binged on several shows on what they considered to be the best streaming service around, the two of them were inseparable. They enjoyed talking about local legends and mysteries which spanned the entire world. All of this began to slow down when she started having heart troubles. Brad, being such a loving son took to his mother’s issues and helped her get through one of the darkest times in her life. After being hospitalized a countless number of times, she wasn’t sure how long she would live for after surgery. Even though she had a lot of wrong going on with her health, she did not let that stop her from living life the best she could. Brad was always by her side, save for the times he needed to go out for a while to take care of errands. This routine went on for two years after her time in the hospital and the indication of her improving health started to make it feel like life was getting better. Or so he thought.

Then, on one fateful and snowy January night, he found his mother unresponsive in her bedroom while the swords of a TV show in the background rang out, the glow of her bright life no longer present. His face turned a pale and his heart sank into his gut when he saw his beloved mother. All manner of attempted help proved to be impotent. Millions of thoughts started going through his mind, like a star ship traveling at light speed while also seeing an enormous belt of asteroids quickly approaching. It was this moment where his life changed forever.

After a long, drawn out scene filled with tears and sorrow. Brad and his wife Clara were quick to dial for an ambulance which took them close to one half hour to arrive due to weather conditions. A police officer and his assistant were first to arrive on the scene. They waded through a snow filled driveway and made their way inside. The officer took pictures and then took a report from both Brad and his wife. After it was all over, the next day came and he spent all of it thinking about what to do next.

After her passing in January he quickly felt that everything was going to be okay. Since he did not have a job, he and his wife hoped that any life insurance money they were entitled to would help them live in comfort while they searched for work. Month after month bills started to pile up. Between funeral expenses, keeping power in their home, and minor utility bills he realized just how far things had fallen behind. Overtime, he felt the pressure of the ocean building up on his chest, feeling crushed by the weight and potentially drowning in all of it. Knowing that he had to do something about this feeling, he phoned the life insurance company his mom had and was shocked to hear that he wouldn’t be getting any money.

It was that moment where he realized that the true fight began.

Now, it was a glaring circumstance of joint incompetence by more than one party and the loss of a loved one who cared very much for her family and would never let anything happen to them. Brad continued to fight the good fight, asking around for help and managed to get some when he needed it the most. Friends, family, and people who experienced the same thing offered him advice.

Nine months later, he still continued to struggle and told himself that’s enough. In that moment, he started looking around harder for work. Applying for a handful of different career paths and standard nine to fiver jobs. To no avail however, he was unable to find a job.

“What can I do now?” he thought to himself while staring at his computer one rainy day. “Try to find something to do online?” his wife chimed in with a big warm hug, deep concern in her soft voice.

Brad smiled and began to look online for something he could do. After hours of searching, he finally landed on writing. Knowingly, it wasn’t going to be an easy path but he knew it was something everyone needs in order to function. He drilled through various ‘Top 10 companies who pay you for writing.’ sites in order to find something concrete. Since then, he started to write poetry and stories, hoping that this may be the key he needs to unlock the gigantic treasure chest that is life. Clara, who was very impressionable started researching how to write for blogs, both determined not to let anything stop them from getting the financial headway they needed in order to live a happy life without Brad’s mother. While they were still uncertain if this chosen path would work or not, they still wanted to try and learn something a little on the newer side. Each them explored their interests and began their new journey with writing. It seemed that a single ion engine began to spark with life, moving them along this new road ahead in hopes to take off and reach a bright blue sky with hundreds of different opportunities.

Even though his mother is gone, he still heard her voice telling him that everything will be okay and that life is not against you, do what you need to get ahead. He wakes up everyday hearing this voice and is still learning how to cope with it all. Even with all of the hardships he still managed to find away through the woods and have a clear view of a lush, and very open field filled with flowers and spring ridden scents. He loved his mother very much and missed her, but he knew that she would have wanted Brad and his wife to move forward without hindrance or strife.