But for Bethany and other teen parents, that kind of dedication means sacrificing freedoms while keeping up in school. It means taking on a minimum-wage job to help pay for diapers and tiny, expensive jars of baby food. It's quite a balancing act. Not every teen can cope with the difficult transition into adulthood and parenthood at the same time. The hours of carefree gabbing on the phone with friends are history.
Homework is a refuge, a break from the selflessness of tending to a small child.
Social events center on friends' baby showers and an occasional trip to Chuck E. Cheese's. Her old friends don't understand that she can't get a baby sitter on short notice. Plans to meet for coffee or a movie can dissolve at any time if Devon gets sick, needs a nap or simply throws a tantrum. Bethany works 30 hours a week at Corning-Revere, a kitchen supply store in the Prime Outlets at Anderson. I feel like everything I do reflects on Devon.