In June the apartment I was hoping for became available sooner than expected and so we moved. I could have waited and continued to live in the house, but honestly, it was wearing me down. I didn't know if the lender would approve the short sale or if the house would foreclose first. I was tired of strange people walking through my home, with an eye to potentially buy it.
The move went smoothly, and my boy and I both are very happy with the new place. He especially loves the swimming pool. :-)
The problem soon began when I had to spend most of my free time at the house, working on the yard and such. I have to continue to pay utilities and maintain the house. The paperwork for the short sale has been submitted four times now, the last two times with an offer attached. I have someone who wants to buy the house and yet, I can't move forward with the sale because the lender won't approve it.
I'm still living out of boxes. I haven't had time to unpack them.
No time for camping trips or anything like that. I did take one weekend for myself and went to Lewiston.
And now, here's the kicker. The lender drove by the house today and flipped out because the house is vacant. Even though they knew it was vacant in JUNE! My real estate agent reassured them, then, that all the utilities were still on and that I was going over there several times a week to take care of the property.
So, I called my agent back today and told her that yes, as before, the utilities were on and I was still going over there to maintain the yard. I had not been over there for the last week due to not feeling well, but had planned to go over this weekend and try to get caught up. Which will be interesting, since I don't have a lawnmower anymore.
Well, now the buyer is worried that the trees and everything is dying because I haven't been over there. The backyard is dead I'm afraid. I have only been keeping up on the front so I don't accrue any fines from the HOA. *sigh*
So here's the idea from my agent. Let the buyer move in now as the caretaker for the property. Buyer would take over utilities and all the yard work while we wait for the freakin' lender to approve the darn short sale. I really could care less. I would have sent the darn keys to the lender long ago except the Ex convinced me it was better to try and make the short sale work. Easy for him to say, he's not doing any of the yard work or responsible for the utilities.
On top of all this, my boy has been acting out more lately. And I have received some criticism on my parenting skills that just hurts. I'm doing the best I can and honestly, calling his dad or some other male figure in his life to back me up will not help. I feel it will only undermine my authority with him. He's 7 years old for pete's sake and from a broken home. There has been a lot of change in his life the last couple of years and I think he's handled it pretty darn well. So, yes, he fights with me and talks back to me. I am being the best single mom I know how to be.
I miss my heart-sister. This weekend, her family goes to their cabin to spread her ashes and set her headstone. I wish I could be there. It's been 5 months since the angels took her, and it feels like yesterday. Sometimes, I can still hear her voice. Some days, I reach for my phone to call her or send a text.
So, every day, I take a deep breath. Remind myself of all the blessings in my life. Hold onto the hope that the pain and frustration won't last forever.
I take it all day by day.
I kneel down and pray.
I dredge up the strength to retain my sanity.
