Photo by John Matychuk on Unsplash

In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic throwing many lives into chaos, I can’t help but think about my dad who passed away unexpectedly in 1981 at the age of 61. My dad was a dedicated, hard-working man but he never climbed out of his lower middle-class roots.

Like a typical family of that time, my mom raised my two brothers and I while my dad worked as a school janitor. The job didn’t pay much money and we struggled to make ends meet. My dad would always take on other jobs such as cutting grass or shoveling snow to supplement his income. Sometimes he would take me along to some of these part-time jobs and I would work alongside him. One of these jobs was cleaning litter from the parking lot, sidewalks and landscape of a neighborhood shopping plaza.

Although I never felt “poor”, we definitely didn’t have a lot of money growing up. My parents were frugal, always pinching pennies, saving where we could, and never going on lavish vacations. Thinking back on those times, I can sympathize with so many people who are now going through rough times because they have lost their jobs or are working reduced hours.

This pandemic has forced people to look at alternatives to make ends meet. In most countries, the unemployment rate has reached the highest since the Great Depression, driving many people to pick up side hustles in order to make money.

Continue to Part Two

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