Family Can't Do It All

Texas is going to shop in the social services departments for the $25 billion it needs to balance its budget, I'm banking on that.

Services for Sam and others like him in this state have always been poorly funded, and often pathetic in scope. Texas is just so stuck on this idea of picking yourself up by the bootstraps. Or, alternatively, making sure a family takes care of its own.

I've been guilty of that kind of shortcut thinking, because there is a grain of truth to it.

Yet, there are plenty of times that Sam needs a leg up and, as his mother, I am the absolute most wrong person to give it.

For example, his voyage into the work force -- soon he is going to be underemployed, computer certificate in hand, but still sacking groceries at Albertsons. He'll need help with the job search. The college's placement center will be a resource, but he's going to need some intense coaching for this part of the process. He had more than six months of support to get that job at Albertsons.

The job hunt is one of our most elaborate social rituals.

No place for your mom.