(Editor’s note: The names of the family members have been
changed to protect their privacy.)

She enlisted in the Army Reserves straight out of high school,
completed a tour of duty in Iraq and now lives as a single mother
with her two boys.

Julie Reed, 25, works part time at a gas station, making minimum
wage. She also receives a small check for her one weekend each
month with the reserves, and intermittent child support.

The child support, from the father of her oldest boy, cannot be
counted on. “The father pays it, but he’s out of a job right now,”
Reed said, adding that even if he does pay, the money doesn’t
always come through. “Sometimes it does and sometimes it
doesn’t.”

She’s working to make things better for her family by taking
on-line college courses to become a paralegal, but is worried about
having enough money to fill that space under the Christmas tree
this year.

With about ,1,060 in expenses every month, including rent, food
and recently acquired cable, Reed has a difficult time making ends
meet. She has tried to gather extra hours with the reserves, but
only gets a couple days a month.

Right now she is looking for a second job. She just reapplied
for an Access Card, which she had been denied due to the extra
income from her re-enlistment bonus, and does qualify for that
again, but sometimes the money doesn’t cover everything.

“I just get crafty with it, you know,” Reed said of stretching
her funds.

Reed is working to better her situation though. “I got the cable
turned on for the Internet so I can go to college. I’m studying to
be a paralegal.”

While she studies on the computer, her boys sit and watch
cartoons. She doesn’t let them watch much television though. “I
don’t believe in it,” she explained. “If I need some quiet time, I
use the T.V.”

Reed explained that she wants to be a paralegal because it is
something she finds interesting, but it is also something she can
do from home, which means more time with her children.

“My children are my life,” Reed explained. She even calls to
check on what time they went to bed every night when she works or
is away for weekend drill.

Reed applied to the Era Less Fortunate Fund this year to make it
better on her children.

She asked for toy cars for Jim, 2, who is always talking about
riding in the car. Jim even stole a couple of cars from his cousin
that Reed had to give back. “It was kind of funny,” she said.

Despite being only a year old, Carl is still old enough to have
a favorite. He loves his “Tickle Me Elmo” doll that Reed’s mother
got for him. His room is decorated in Elmo, except for the stickers
he ripped off the crib.

Reed didn’t ask for any gifts for herself, just clothing and
toys for her two sons.

“I worry more about my kids than me,” she said. “As long as they
are happy on Christmas, that’s my present.”