My name is Catarina Veigas, I am 23 years old, and I am a single mother to a wonderful daughter. Raising my daughter alone is, without a doubt, the biggest challenge and the greatest joy of my life. Every day is a new lesson, both for me and for her.
I was born and raised in a small town, Wells, in the southwest, where everyone knows each other and opportunities are scarce. I have always valued education, and despite financial difficulties, I managed to finish high school. From a young age, I learned the importance of being resilient and fighting for my goals, even when the path seemed difficult.
I come from a humble family, I learned to live with little, and be happy with what is available. No ambitions. Always keeping my feet on the ground.
When I was 19, I moved to London, in search of a better life, job opportunities. I wanted to provide for myself and help my family and it was here that I met Nalbert, I fell madly in love with him, we even shared a life together.
When I found out I was pregnant, my life changed completely. My daughter's father decided not to be a part of our lives, and I had to face this new reality alone. In the first few months, fear and uncertainty were my constant companions, but I realized that I needed to be strong for both of us.
I thought several times about going back to my hometown, I needed a support network. But I put it in my head that I could do it on my own, I still live in a studio apartment. And my neighbor Gisele, who is my best friend, I met her here in London, she was the one who helped me.
Gisele accompanied my pregnancy, she saw Lavinia being born, and took care of both of us. It was very difficult, but we managed. Lavinia had everything she needed when she was born, I was working in a supermarket, I worked the nine months of my pregnancy. And when my daughter was born I took care of her and myself during the day, at night when Gisele got off work, she would clean the house, take care of the laundry and the food.
Today Lavinia is two years old, every smile and every new learning experience my daughter has reminds me that all the effort is worth it.
I had to leave the supermarket, I wasn't able to balance the hours with my daughter's care, almost my entire salary was going to the babysitter. I started going into debt, falling behind on bills, I almost got evicted because I couldn't pay the rent, Gisele helped me.
I am looking for a job, trying to find an opportunity that allows me to support my daughter and be present in her life. I have experience in customer service and sales. In addition, I have developed basic administrative skills, which I believe would be useful in many roles.
While I'm at home, I take the opportunity to improve myself. I participate in online courses and workshops, always seeking to improve my qualifications. I know the job market is competitive, but I am determined to get a position that will allow us to live well, I don't want wealth, I just want to have the basics. To live well with my daughter.
The days are long and the nights are often short, but every challenge overcome gives me the certainty that I am on the right path. I have a strong work ethic and am willing to learn and adapt to new roles. I know that with dedication and perseverance, I will be able to overcome difficulties and provide a better future for my daughter.
Being a single mother is not easy, but it is also an inexhaustible source of love and motivation. Every little success, every new word my daughter speaks, gives me strength to keep fighting. I firmly believe that we can build a bright future, full of opportunities and happiness.
Since I don't have money to pay a babysitter, I go out with Lavinia in my arms, in the places I went, I only received no's, there are people who even offend me for looking for work with my daughter in my arms.
This hurts me a lot, we live within our reality. I have no money and no one to leave her with. Her father disappeared, I never saw him again, and he never looked for me to see if we needed anything. This makes my life even more difficult.
Today I am going to a company called Wall Street, they offer a nursery and daycare for employees' children, they have some open positions and I am confident. Any job they offer me, I will accept, I can't afford to be picky.
I got up and did my morning routine, I got ready; I put on a turtleneck and a coat. It's very cold. I got Lavinia ready, I bundled my daughter up well, made a strong coffee and a bottle for Lavinia. Even though she still breastfeeds, my daughter already eats and drinks from a bottle. Only at bedtime at night.
We left home early, I had to take two buses to get to Wall Street. They treated me well and I was able to leave Lavinia in the nursery, I did the interview, I did all the tests and finally I was hired, I got the cleaning lady position. I was so happy, while women who were by my side looked down on the job. I was happy. Now I'm going to be able to give my daughter a better life and we'll have what to eat and where to sleep. Without the threat of eviction and spending the night awake thinking about what tomorrow will be like.
I got my badge and got the authorization for my daughter to stay in the nursery. I received the uniform and got to know the floor where I will be working, I will be on the Marketing executive floor.
It's a multi-story building, there's no way a cleaning lady can handle it all alone, so they hire one per floor, we take care of the coffee and also the cleaning. It's great for me, I'm looking at the salary and benefits, health insurance for Lavinia, she's never had health insurance. Transportation vouchers and food vouchers, in addition to the salary, which is double what I earned at the supermarket.
I came home beaming, as soon as I arrived, I made some pasta and we ate. It had to be just the pasta, there was no protein to go with it.
"Daughter, today we have little, but soon we will have enough to live well."
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