Sorry to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Mike and I sold our place and down sized into a two bedroom condo. It really took a lot out of me. I think even Mike would agree it was hard on him. We owned our home for seventeen years and had made it our little paradise. We planned to be there for a long time to come. We were three years away to being mortgage free! Back in June when we first found out I was in renal failure, I could not work for about four months, and we knew I probably wouldn’t ever work much more than a day or two a week for a very long time. So we both decided to prepare for the worst and expect the best! That became our motto. We had it tough for the first few months, going from two incomes to one takes time and bill collectors don’t wait! So this was truly a challenge to keep out of the” Red” as the saying goes. Truth be told if it wasn’t for our daughter and her husband, my sister Julie and her husband and Mikes co-workers as well as my daughters co-workers we wouldn’t have fared so well those first four months. Employment Insurance (E.I.) is a joke! We knew our greatest asset was our almost completely paid for house . That still took a few months on the market to sell, so I pushed myself to work a couple of nights a week, so as to keep us from being harassed by bill collectors. My nephrologist was in complete agreement with my working as long as I listen to my body and got plenty of rest. So basically when I wasn’t working I was pretty much conserving my energy for work and learning about my kidney disease. Which is no easy task. What a wonderful feeling to have no debts and the energy to enjoy a life out side of work! We invested ( conservatively) our remainder of cash, in the hopes to make our money grow as the investors motto goes. We decided to rent for six months, a very modern condo down town. That way we can be sure if condo living is right for us. We’re right down town in the old orchard area. I love my condo so far and the surprising life style change that has come with it. It’s safe and well built. My ceilings are nine feet tall and the windows reach from floor to ceiling and we have Mountain Views. I can’t believe how creative and rejuvenated I feel in this condo. We loved our previous house very much but It had definitely grown to big for me. In retrospect, it overwhelmed me more than I knew. Last Friday night, with my grandchildren in tow, I was easily able to walk a few blocks to a coffee house for hot chocolate, and still have the energy to keep the kids under control, as much as little ones can be controlled. There was a live band playing jazz. My Grandson who is five was break dancing next to our table. My little angel of a granddaughter, that night anyways, was sitting on my lap completely fixated on the lead singer, who herself was fixated on my smiling and completely content granddaughter. We only stayed for one song so as to let all the adults enjoy their night out. I love the bonus “lifestyle change” that has come from our unexpected change of plans. I look forward to going back, only this time with my husband to enjoy quiet drinks and more music. I sure hope that no one brings their little kids out! LOL. Life is full of wonderful little surprises that would not otherwise have happened if it were not for our misfortunes. So I guess why I’m sharing all of this with you in this blog is to put down in words how I and my loved ones are learning that life goes on and life is fascinating in the sense that we can plan to go in one direction and because of an unfortunate set of circumstances we have to go in another, only to find out that the new direction is just as interesting.
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