Washington (CNN) — Atlanta mom Amanda James’ heart shattered when her soon-to-be 11-year-old uttered the words: “Mom, I don’t have to have a birthday party this year.”

Her son knew both James, a Federal Aviation Administration airway transportation systems specialist and mother of four, and her husband, an air traffic controller, weren’t receiving paychecks during the government shutdown.

“That absolutely broke my heart,” James explained to CNN. “(I told him), ‘That is not for you to worry about.’ I was like, ‘No, whatever you want to do that day, that’s what we’re going to do.’ It hurt my feelings so bad that a coming 11-year-old was concerned about something he shouldn’t have to be concerned with.”

It’s one of the agonizing conversations playing out in the homes of many federal emplo

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