Homeless but not Houseless, Displaced but not Forgotten

On Sunday, September 14th, we left the devastation that was our neighborhood and sought refuge in the town where I work. We were relieved to get out without injury. Trees were splintering, splitting, flying, falling, cracking and causing mayhem in every direction. Our (recently wrecked) van incurred a little more body damage, but nothing serious. We were happy to get safely out of the country and in to our closest city which has a lot fewer trees.

Going on ten days later, we still have no power. Since we have well water that also equals no water. Our food was ruined...we have a $500 deductible on our insurance policy, which applies to lost food. So no help there.

We have a massive tree hanging on power lines and partly clinging to another tree. The rest of our village now has power, so those are live power lines. If/when the tree comes down (which it looks more and more like it's going to do) it will crush anything in the vicinity...and the power lines will then be a danger to everyone nearby. Here's some pics to help you visualize the tree situation: (although you can't see the power lines, really.)

The insurance company assures us, despite the circumstance described above, that we cannot file a claim for "loss of use." Why? because the tree didn't fall on the house. Yep. That's the ticket.

Calls to our local power company (Dayton Power and Light) and the local sheriff's office yield nothing but frustration. In fact, I called the sheriff's department last week and told the dispatcher that I was concerned about the tree. I was afraid that if/when it falls and a motorist happens to be driving by, it could injure or kill someone. I told them I was not home because I was not staying at home. I gave them my cel phone number if they had any questions, and told them to be sure to call me. I figured a cone or a roped off area would prevent people from driving on that side of the road, closest to the tree, and that it would keep folks a bit safer in the process.

What did the police do? They sent out a deputy, who parked under the tree for ten minutes and proceeded to knock on our door. For ten minutes. Then he left.

Oh, the brilliance that is our local law enforcement!

For two days here, school was out and that helped. I farmed my kids off in all directions, with relatives who had power, as it is difficult to find anyone who can accommodate a family of five....and anyone who is able to take on such a burden usually has a houseful already.

On Wednesday of last week, school started up again, with a 2 hour delay each day until Friday. Classes were held without power. Robert and I slept on the couch here in the conference room at work. I filled up the gas tank in our Jeep four times last week, running the kids back and forth from various relatives' homes to school.

Oh, and yes: gas. They are jacking up the prices around here because there was a temporary shortage for a few days due to lack of filling stations that had power. So, that's fun.

Things are so disorganized that I have no idea if the kids are getting their homework done, turned in, etc. I don't know if they have everything they need on any given day....book bags, Jo's snare drums for band...Josh's football gear...etc. I don't know whether I'm coming or going.

Last night we stayed with my neighbor (Ruth) who is the step mom of my oldest friend, Wyn. Well, Robert, myself, Jess and Jo stayed. Josh stayed with my across-the-street neighbor, Deb, who has three kids, two who go to school with my crew.

Ruth's home is right around the block from our house. With this temporary arrangement, the kids can catch the bus at their usual stop and I don't have to drive them. That will save us in gas money. We can bring food and put it in Ruth's fridge, and cook at home. This will save us from having to eat out all the time, which was ridiculously expensive- and for a while, only a handful of restaurants were open in our area.

So now I have a daily place to take showers without asking friends in town that have power to take a shower at their place. I can do laundry, without going to the laundromat. I can stop carrying around a bag of toiletries everywhere I go. I can be closer to my animals.

So, to the people that have blessed us so far during this time, I thank you.

• I thank you, Sandy, for use of your shower. It was an amazing gift, because I don't cope well if I feel gross.


• Deb, thank you for the meal you cooked on the grill even though you didn't have power at that time, either. Thank you for allowing us unlimited access to your outside water spicket so we can keep the toilet flushed and the animals watered. Thank you for letting my kids hang out with your kids as much as needed. I never worry about the kids when they're with you. Thanks for taking pictures of the tree and power lines when I had forgotten that I probably should do that. Thank you for other things like feeding the kids snacks and probably other stuff that I don't know about. Thanks for keeping an eye on the animals and helping out with feeding them on the night I couldn't make it back in to town. I don't know what I would do without you.


• I thank you, Tarija, for the use of your shower and for helping with the kids. You are a single mom, but you pitched in and helped without qualm or discussion. I am glad that for a few precious days I didn't have to worry about Jess or Jo at all...as you stepped in and took care of them when I could barely take care of myself.


• Brenda, thank you for several home cooked meals, which meant my stomach could stop protesting against one too many fast food meals. Thank you for doing a load of laundry for me two days after the disaster so I could have clean underwear. :) That's friendship.


• Thank you, Ruth, for offering your help as soon as your power came back on. Despite the fact that you just had cataract surgery, you did not hesitate to open your home. I always felt like your home was my second home growing up. Now I feel like it's my safe haven until things return to normal. The fact that I could take a hot bath and actually shave my legs restored my sanity just a bit. Having a few days' worth of clean clothes in a neat little pile in your laundry room is a huge relief.

Okay, so those are the "thank you" sentiments I wanted to share.

Here's the angst:

• Thank you, little village, for all of your gossip during this time.


• Thank you for saying "It must be 'our fault' that the power is out."


• Thank you, you caring woman, for laughing out loud with your windows down in your truck when you saw the tree on the lines. That was classy.


• Thank you for getting the rumor mill going that we left the house and hadn't been taking care of our pets in our absence. OKAY...what were we doing there EVERY NIGHT SAVE ONE after the storm? Why did Deb's kids come over with a bags of food and jugs of water on that night? Why was our Jeep parked in the side yard? Why were we carrying in jug after jug of water for the last ten days? HMMM? Why haven't the animals died of malnutrition or lack of water?


• Oh, I like the rumor that "DP&L isn't doing anything about the tree because they must not have paid their bill." Okay. I see. I guess we go to work EVERY BLESSED DAY FOR the fun of it. Not to pay our bills. Yeah. In the three years we've lived in that house, we've NEVER ONCE had a disconnect. But we chose this month not to pay our bill? Sure sounds logical to me, "neighbors."


• Thank you, Josh's crazy ex girlfriend, for deciding to get your new (skinhead) boyfriend and his friends to come after Josh last week in school. Thank you for making me take 2 hours of my day to speak with the principal and try to get some protection for my son....the son who just had five stitches from a football injury last week.....the son whose eye is so bloody already that he can barely see out of it. Thank you for that.


• Thank you, stupid boys, for making my husband leave work and run up the school to chauffeur Josh home so your gang of thugs wouldn't harm Josh before the football game. Thank you for making us walk around at the festival with Josh this past Saturday, because we didn't know when you were going to pounce again, and we weren't going to let it happen on our watch.


• And thank you, simple minded principal, who despite all those facts, only suspended those violent boys for one half a day. Even though those boys shoved even you when you tried to intervene in the ruckus.....even though Josh produced threatening text messages he received with the "N" word used repeatedly, along with threats of violence. Thank you for your lack of sensitivity and common sense.

Perhaps you can tell I have a little anger about all of this. Right now I am wavering. I am pondering. I am so unsure of my next move. I have so little faith left. I don't know if I even want to remain in the town that I once thought of as a quiet little rural oasis. I don't want to make any decisions at all until I am not so emotional.

I can't be expected to make any decision right now. It's been too hellish a month.

Did I already mention:

Josh got his driver's license in August. He wrecked our van three weeks later. It was $700+ plus to fix, (rear axle) and $150 for tows. Josh appeared in juvenile court this past Friday for "failure to yield." That was $100. In August, Jess turned sixteen. There was money to have her little get together. Birthday money to dispense, which is a conservative, but standard amount we give the teens for their birthdays.

School started in August. There was money to get school clothes, shoes and supplies for all three. August is always a tight squeeze for us. Then I had an unexpected $900 bill for a snafu on my taxes from 2006.

Joy, joy and more joy! Despite my best efforts, we have finally joined many of our fellow Americans in being behind on our mortgage payment. We're working on getting behind on other bills, too. I have applications in all over the place for a second job. No takers so far.

I am at the point of not knowing for sure which way to turn. I feel numb. I don't know what to do from one day to the next. I don't have any certainty or even any sort of plan.

I think I just laid it all out here on the table, in part, because I have to say this stuff out loud, to someone. Part of it is just venting, as I do from time to time. Part of it is that I'm simply taking inventory.

You know, there are millions of people that have it worse in the world. There are hurting people everywhere...some close to me...some I don't know. Lately I have noticed that it seems like death and carnage and depression and hardship seem to be multiplying. I think other people have noticed it, too. Life seems to be getting progressively harder for people to cope with. Myself included.

I'm done with this post. I've rambled my ramble and griped my gripe. I've said my piece and thanked my peeps.

Thank you for going along for the ride.

"The Price is Right" Analogy

Robert's grandmother, Grandma Margaret, used to watch "The Price is Right" faithfully. Daily. She would also babysit our kids on occasion before they were school age. I knew that Grandma Margarent watched "The Price is Right" because once when Jess was playing dolls she had the one doll ask the other, "Gentleman, do I have three numbers right?" I will never forget that incident, because it was so cute.

I've probably only seen the show "The Price is Right" ten times in my whole life. However, right now I feel kind of like comparing myself to one of the games that I recall from watching it. I don't know the specific name of it, but it involves a little yodeling guy on a mountain. The object is to guess the name of the product correctly. For every dollar the contestant is off, the yodeling guy moves one notch up the mountain.

I am that yodeling guy. And some hapless contestant has just guessed $500 for a pack of gum. I feel as though I am going to yodel right off the mountain into the audience somewhere. They will find me, yodeling about the countryside, permanently off track and out of the game. :)

Stress...we all have it. Is my stress any worse than the next persons?

Probably not.

I have friends going through stuff right now that I can't even begin to imagine coping with.

I'm just tired.

Tired, tired, tired.

Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually. Financially.

Sigh.

I'm here, although I haven't felt like writing or posting or talking. I haven't checked in here since June.

So I'm checking in.

I'll be okay. I always am.

Besides, how depressed can a mountain climbing, yodeling game show figure really be?

Hope this post finds your life on the right track. :)

To Do List

Has anyone noticed that when a person goes away on a trip, there is lots to do? Not to mention that part of the mission of my trip to Georgia is to transport some items to my uncle that my grandmother requested that he receive after her passing. It's been over three years since she passed, and I still haven't taken them down. Why, you may ask? Why would I take so long?

Because some of the items can't be flown, shipped or taken by bus. No, they aren't bombs, just WW II relics that can be considered weapons...though they are family heirlooms of sorts.

Sigh. Anyway, I've had to locate and pull those items out of storage....and now I have the following list to work on, which seems to keep growing:

1. Get Jeep washed
2. Get laundry caught up, which I've been working on this week
3. Wash the cooler that has been in storage
4. Pack gifts that I have for my little cousin Jesse, as well as Uncle Ron and Aunt Pat
5. Pay this week's and next week's bills prior to leaving
6. Pick up a box of contact lenses
7. Make sure animals have adequate food so Robert doesn't have to go to the store and pick any up while I am away.
8. Clean litter box, guinea pig cages
9. Check Jeep fluids, tire pressure, etc.
10. Pack camera tripod
11. Buy extra ice
12. Jess needs a hair cut
13. Return library book
14. Buy snacks for trip
15. Pack lunch for trip down

I know I am forgetting something....sigh. It's all good, though. I like having these kind of to-do lists. It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something as I await the trip ahead.

Before I close, I want to say that I am an inconsiderate boob :) for not mentioning the lovely visit that I had with Marilyn, April and Sarah last week. We met up at BW3s and had dinner...it was far too short a visit, but long overdue. April, when was the last time we got together? It's been months! Anyway, in my last post I was listing all these great times I've had of late, hanging out and catching up with friends. Yet I completely left that tidbit of information out. April reads my blog, so I know she was wondering what the issue was. :) Sorry, April! Too much on my mind!

So, for an April shout out: Have a good trip to PA, and I enjoyed seeing you all! Let's do it again real soon!

Also, to Sheila, in case she EVER reads this blog....Can't wait to see you on the 12th! Miss you!

In other news, I'm still working out faithfully...at least 3 times a week, often 4. I am up to four miles...or I do shorter mileage with a faster pace...a.k.a....jogging. I also do strength/resistance training. Today I did thigh/arm and ab work in addition to a one mile jog. I am feeling great! After my initial 20 lb loss, I'm not dropping weight quickly, but I am reshaping, firming, toning. My clothes fit better. I feel better. I am motivated. YAY! Now if the scale would only move down a few more pounds...LOL!

Okay, that's it for now! Duty calls!

Georgia on My Mind

Yay! Jess and I are to leave for Georgia on Saturday morning to visit my Uncle Ron and Aunt Pat. They live about 1 hour north of Atlanta. This will be my third trip to visit them. This will be my first trip driving there myself. I can't wait! I am requesting prayer for a safe and uneventful trip there and back...as well as smooth sailing all week leading up to our departure.

Sometimes the travel gremlins like to come in and spoil plans we have to go places. I am praying that no travel gremlins prevail this time. I NEED some time away! :) Jess and I also need some mother/daughter bonding time. She'll be 16 in August. How many more of these little get togethers will we have the opportunity for before she becomes an adult? Sigh.

I really feel like this trip is "meant to be." One day a few weeks ago, I sat down to calculate what I would need for gas and such. When I did that, I came up with between $250-$300. That same day I did my calculations, I saw my name in the paper for unclaimed funds. I would never have known I was in there (who has time to read the paper?) but a coworker of mine saw his friend's name and asked me to look up his friend's information. Right underneath his friend's name, was my name, my old address!

I went to the directed website, and it said I had over $100 in unclaimed funds. Guess how much? $275! Yay! How exciting! I won't see those funds for awhile, but I can go on my trip-guilt free-knowing God has provided my funds in such a way that it doesn't dip in to my budget! Eventually the gas money I have to use will be replenished when my unclaimed funds check arrives! Double yay!

What's new in your lives? I hope this post finds all my blogger peeps blessed beyond measure!

The friend I have known the longest...Wyn....33 years of friendship and running now...was in town back in May. It was so much fun! She came in on Memorial Day weekend and we spent some quality time hanging out....catching up, etc. We also spent some time with our friend, Tracy, who has 1-year- old twin boys. Those babies are gorgeous...and growing like weeds. They just don't stay little long!

Also, in April, a dear friend of mine from elementary school got married. I felt so privileged to be able to attend. Josiah and Jess went with me. It was a lovely outdoor wedding. Tricia looked radiant and very happy...she and Jeff have dated for years, and they seem very well suited for one another.

Last week I got to see friends Sandy and Beth at the June crop. We had a great time, though Beth had to skip out early for other plans. When I don't see Sandy for awhile, I feel it. She and I are a lot alike. She boosts my spirits and I know she understands my ups and downs where being a mom is concerned.

Beth and I got to hang out a bit when I invited her along to a Dayton Dragon's baseball game a few weeks ago. I wanted to take Jo and his cousin, but I had four tickets and Robert had to take Josh to driver's ed. Beth- who has such a fun loving spirit- agreed to tag along. We all had such a good time!

I missed out on Sandy's May crop due to Josh having driving school. Driving school is over, now he just has to complete his four scheduled drives with the instructor. How scary! :) I'm so glad he's 17 1/4....and still not a licensed driver. I'm sure my insurance rates are glad, too.

Jess is now talking about wanting her permit. YIKES! Anyone know of any industrial strength hair dye to cover the grays I'm going to be developing SOON? I'm thinking of wrapping the cars in bubble wrap and wearing a helmet while I teach them to drive. Maybe even some knee pads, body armor.....installing an i.v. drip of Pepto Bismol...haha.

Oh yes....did I mention that Robert got a promotion? He's in one of the highest paying positions at the foundry where he works now. It involves a gradual pay increase on a specific scale...but he's already $1 an hour up! What a blessing!

Also, did I mention that both Josh and Jess got multiple academic awards for the last semester of the school year? Jess got "Most Improved Student" and "Most Artistic" for her class. Her artwork won multiple awards this year and represented her school in shows across our area of Ohio. She is really gifted. She gets this from Robert and Robert's side of the family. I am amazed at her talent and way of seeing things with such an artistic eye.

Josh...he was student of the month for May...and was in the paper for the third time this school year. Once was for a Veteran's day project, once for basketball, and then for student of the month. He was also awarded "Renaissance" for the last semester...the criteria being: 1. No unexcused absences or tardies 2. No disciplinary action 3. All A's and B's.

I am so proud of my kids' improvement!

Josiah is growing like crazy! He is startlingly close to 5' tall now. He's just about Jess' height. It seems so strange and sudden, because the growth came out of nowhere. Robert's brother's son, Fred Jr., is spending a great deal of his summer with us, and Josiah is loving that! They have such a cool bond as cousins...both born in November of 1997. They are more like twins! :)

Okay, I've got to get to work, so before I go:

Just some specific shout outs:

• Denise with your upcoming surgery...you are in my prayers.


• Holli, it was great to see you at your shower! You're so pretty and glow-y! :) You and little Teegan are in my prayers! She's going to hang out in your belly for a while longer...I know it.


• Pat, hang in there, my friend. The peace that has alluded you will soon settle upon you. I can feel it.


• Pam, thinking of you and that new baby. I wish I could be there to hold her! Please let me know if you got my package. I have been a bit concerned...I don't trust the post office with my whole heart. :)


• Leah, if you still read this, know that you amaze me! You're beautiful and strong! Hang tough!


• Beth, text me and let me know how things are going. You know I love updates on what's new.

That's all I can think of for now. I will leave you with this awesome picture that Wyn took of our kitten, Keebah, while she was here. Yes, yes, we finally decided on a name for that little ball of energy. Keebah it is. The name...like Tiga's...came from a Japanese cartoon show that Robert and the kids watch. Why settle for mediocrity where pet names are concerned? :)

I LOVE this shot of Keebah...taken clear across our yard. Keebah is allowed on the back concrete pad, just outside the back door. Wyn got this pic with little effort. SIGH. I simply MUST have one of those SLR digital cameras with the lens that can zoom across country. It's making me have camera envy. Up until this picture, I was totally content with my Kodak 8.1 megapixel point and shoot. Sigh. :)

That's all for now! To my American friends: have a blessed 4th of July if I don't post again by then! God's richest blessings to you and yours!

Congratulations, Pam!

Congratulations to my blogger friend, Pam, on the birth of her baby girl!

I am so happy for you, Pam! She's gorgeous, just like her mommy!