I am constantly amazed at how life changes and takes a person through hills and valleys and through all kinds of trials. Much of the last few years will sound simple, but it has been extremely stressful. First I need to say that I can't thank God enough for looking after me throughout the years of my life. No, my life has not always gone as I hoped, planned, wished - but God has seen me through all aspects - all trials, all joys, and God knows my path and will guide my path if I only listen and follow. Second I want to say that my trials are minescule when compared to some others in this world; however, they are what I live and what I concern myself over - what I stress over.
Almost four years ago, Paul and I were married. He had a good job where he had worked for a cumulative of 23 years - good benefits, 5 weeks of paid vacation, he was a supervisor/manager, and his subordinates seemed to work well with him. Paul was contribuing $1500 to our bills, helping pay the mortgage, cable, groceries, etc. We were looking forward to many years of vacations together, traveling the world, working, and just living life. Six months later, he was laid off along with 50-plus others on that same day (yep, right near the beginning of the collapse of the economy here in the U.S.). Fortunately he was given a six-month severence; unfortunately it took him almost two years to find a new job. The good? He got a lot of stuff done around the house! When he did find that new job, the pay was the same as he was bringing home on unemployment. In the midst of him finding out about his layoff, I was able to apply for and get a promotion at my work.
So now, we have two houses to contend with. Yes, Paul's daughters are "renting" his house, but what they pay only covers the interest-only payment on the house. It does not cover any upkeep, any problems that may arise (termites), and certainly not any income so we can fix up our residence or Paul's classic cars and get them running. So there really is no benefit to having the house other than a place to store some of Paul's stuff and a place for his daugther's to live. Now Courtner is going to move to Las Vegas so we need to sell. A week or two after setting the asking price, the realtor is talking about lowering it and a possible short-sale - losing money. However, yesterday, just three weeks after it went up for sale, we received a full price offer! Although nothing is set until the escrow closes, this is VERY good news. With only one house to focus on, maybe we can fix things in our house. Maybe Paul can concentrate on getting a better job (higher paying). Maybe SOMEDAY I can quit this second job that I have and actually go to school and get a certificate or even a Degree! Maybe....
