The growing pile of overdue notices sitting on my kitchen counter.
And the constant fear that I might not be able to provide for the little girl growing inside me.
For months, I kept telling myself things would improve.
That I just needed a little more time.
A little more luck.
Then last Tuesday arrived.
And everything seemed to collapse at once.
The temperature climbed past ninety-five degrees before noon.
My swollen feet ached.
My lower back felt like it was carrying twice my body weight.
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