I decided to look for a job. John had promised
me a hundred thousand and said he’d pay child
support, but that money wouldn’t last forever.
David’s tutoring alone cost almost twenty
thousand a year, not to mention our daily
expenses. If I just sat around spending money,
it would be gone before I knew it.
Having been a housewife for over a decade, my
job skills were practically nonexistent. I figured
I’d start with something easy and build from
there.
<
I told David about my plan. If I got a job, I
wouldn’t be able to spend as much time taking care of him. He thought for a moment.
“I support you getting a job, Mom. But finding a job is like dating. You gotta be strategic.”
His grown–up tone made me laugh. “Have you ever dated? How would you know?” I teased.
He retorted, “Imagine you just settle for the first person you meet, and then someone better comes along. Do you break up with the first person, or do you just stick it out?”
I thought about it. He had a point. If I took just
any job, and then a better opportunity came
along, it would be a hassle to keep taking time
off for interviews.
David continued, “Don’t rush the job search,
but there’s something else we need to take
care of, and that’s pretty urgent.”
<
“What is it?” I asked.
“Cancel my tutoring.”
“No way!” I refused immediately.
“Mom!” he groaned. “Four subjects a day! I’m
your son, not a pack mule.”
7
After some friendly negotiation, we agreed to
cancel his English and History tutoring, keeping
Math and Science for now. If his grades
improved, we’d revisit the decision.
“You’re the best, Mom!” David cheered,
running circles around me. He even voluntarily
did an extra English worksheet.
Our lives slowly settled into a new normal. One
day, I was browsing an online marketplace
through a link my best friend, Sarah, had sent
<
- me. David peered over my shoulder, “Doss
Sarah make money doing this?”
“Yeah, she does alright,” I replied absently,
clicking the “buy” button.
He tugged on my hand, his eyes shining, “Mom,
I think you’d be great at this.”
My heart skipped a beat. Sarah had always had
great business sense. She’d made a killing a
few years ago with e–commerce. Now she was
focusing on a new social commerce platform. It
didn’t have many users yet, but it was easy to use and had great marketing potential.
More importantly, it had a dropshipping feature,
meaning I wouldn’t have to worry about
inventory
–
perfect for a beginner like me.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll talk to Sarah and see what
she thinks.”
<
If there was one skill I had honed during my
years as a housewife, it was shopping. I was picky, I cared about quality as much as price, always comparing products and reading reviews before buying anything. My friends often asked for my recommendations. Like David said, this
platform might actually be a good fit for me.
With Sarah’s help, I set up my online shop. I
was strict about the quality of the products I
sold, always trying them out myself before
offering them to my customers. I didn’t make a
lot of money at first, but I quickly built a loyal
customer base.
