Being poor and a single parent in Canada by Zed
Paula Johnson waits impatiently for the elevator to take her to the 8th floor of her one bedroom apartment. She shakes her head in disbelief, as the usual ten minutes wait for the elevator turns to fifteen minutes. She enters the dingy apartment. The pale sheer curtains hang unevenly at the window, revealing the areas where the paint is stripping off the wall. The two- piece sofa hugs the corner of the living room. The discoloured cushions sink in the middle. The top of the sofa is of a darker shade than the rest as grease and dirty palms leave permanent impressions. The television blares. The girls are oblivious to the fact that Sponge Bob has lost his job at the Krusty Krab; they tug at a doll to gain possession. Paula pulls two nutri-bars from her handbag and shouts at them to stop. They hastily grab the bars from their mother’s grasp. "Say thank you!" she snaps. She slumps into the chair as weariness, annoyance and despair battle each other. Her youn
