Do you ever wish motherhood came with a manual? I sure do. Especially this month.
First, let me introduce you to my family. Dan and I have a blended family. Our crew consists of one girl (my daughter) age 16. We also have Trevor (my son) and Mark (his son) who turn 15 in June and July. Alexis also has a boyfriend who has become part of our family. He is 17.
Okay… back to my story. Ten months ago Dan and I found what seemed like the perfect house for us. We felt that the landlord was easy to work with and we were eager to move in. Our hopes were crushed right away. The kitchen was too small, our landlord nagged us over everything (including what we threw away in our trash), and she had all of her mail sent to our house. These issues seemed small when we thought about our kids. The house was big enough for our crew and two cats. Our daughter was turning 16 and her boyfriend wanted to buy her a rabbit which our landlord agreed to. Both of our kids who live with us full-time were in great schools. Fine… we’ll stay here for another lease term (1 year). We reached ten months at that house.
Then… everything turned to chaos.
Imagine this… May 1st arrives. In May we have Alexis turning 16 with a giant party planned, both boys graduating 8th grade, and Alexis plays the drums in band. Besides that, she dances. May is the month where she has four dance shows in one week and a band performance the following week. And my landlord calls to say, “I need to let you know that your house went into foreclosure. I’m only telling you this in case you get some papers from the bank.”
So… I went into panic mode and we started looking for another house right away. Our landlord wouldn’t give us any information such as when the bank would be taking over. All we knew was that she hadn’t paid the mortgage all year. Our kids came home from school that day and I had to tell them that we were moving from the house they loved. Trevor doesn’t adapt well to change and began to worry. How would he get to school? What if we don’t find a house in his distract and he will have to go to another high school? The questions and worries went on and on.
The kids were our biggest concern. We didn’t want Trevor to stress over the move and we didn’t want to interrupt Alexis’ sixteenth birthday party or make them switch schools. But we also didn’t want to have the bank take over and be kicked out on the street. So we decided to evaluate our options and pick the best choice.
The problem with our area is that there really is a small number of middle class homes. You either find upper class or low… not much to choose from in the middle ground where we needed to be. Dan and I spent two days driving up and down the streets of the neighborhood we wanted to be in with hopes of finding a “For Rent” sign. Luck was on our side the second day and we found two houses right across the street from the school. We signed the lease the following day.
This new house is a lot nicer than our old house, has the right number of bedrooms with an extra bathroom, has a mini office space for me, we get to have our pets, we’re now in a safer neighborhood, and the best part… the house is across the street from the high school!
Moving was hard. Our old landlord spewed us a bunch of lies and tried bribing us to stay there even though she was losing the house. She also tried threatening us for breaking our lease. Because she lived next door, she knew our schedules and tried making contact with us whenever we went over there. We even found her walking strangers through our house without letting us know first. This inspired us to move faster.
And I have great kids. Alexis insisted that we postpone her party so we had a small birthday celebration. She had so many school projects to finish up she wasn’t able to help move often. Trevor stepped in and did extra, giving her time and us some help. On performance nights, Dan and I moved a load of stuff, ran home to change into “good clothes”, and headed over to the school. By the time we’d arrive home for the night, we’d be ready to drop with exhaustion. And… we ate lots of restaurant food.
We’d went with our gut instinct it and it turned out to be the right thing for our kids. We often say we’d love a manual on motherhood, but you know what? We have them already. Our hearts and instincts are our manuals. My son confirmed this the first night at our new house when he gave me a hug, and said, “I love our new house.”
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WENDY ELY lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her children and her own real life hero. She keeps busy writing romantic suspense and contemporary romance novels, spending time with her family, and taking care of two cats. No matter what, Wendy believes in true love and happily ever after which she provides in her novels!
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Email: [email protected]
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