Hey everybody,
Ever just want to take a giant time out, stare at the corner and not think of anything at all?
That's were I'm at right now. Thankfully, all my paperwork for my Employment Authorization Documents have been completed and accepted. It was actually cheaper for PharTrain, my employer, to push through the paperwork than to continue to pay taxes and other stuff to keep me on the payroll in Canada. I now have American Health Insurance- just in time because Robin has had another ear infection and he's going to get tubes in his ears next week. Thankfully, it was approved quickly.
We've moved temporary into a small apartment near Robin's school, which is 30 miles away from the folk school that Lyra is building. Between the house payments, Robin's school, Merrie's lessons and the 12 hours a week I work at a local pharmacy to help pay for living expenses and with Mike having to be in Canada for his schooling, it was simpler to move. When Mike returns home after finishing this semester, we'll move back and he can drive 60 miles round trip to take Robin to school in the morning.
I can't complain- Snow Valley has a wonder program for working with autism. It's rated as one of the top programs in the nation, in fact. I just want a break when it comes to money. Robin's schooling (ie, his being part of the training program for teachers) will be less expensive because Mike will be a student. At the same time, I keep Merrie in all sorts of classes so she doesn't feel left out, as if all the focus is on her brother's education. She loves her ballet, tap, and gymnastics lessons on Monday and Wednesday nights. On Tuesday and Thursday, she takes French, art and piano. Friday is Girl Scouts, Saturday is horse back riding at Lyra's. Sunday, we all spend sewing, in the kitchen, or doing something creative. (It helps so much that I'm paying a couple of moms in the classes to take her where she needs to go, and it's actually cheaper than daycare.) April talked me into taking yoga at the Y after work, and I also do strength training or cardio four days a week. I take my “me time” by doing a belly dance class on Friday nights.
I know we have a tentative leaser for the house, but we can't charge her the full rent amount for the house yet- Mike's going to stay there while he's completing this semester. It hurts to know that we're going to loose a good part of the down payment when we sell the house, if the market does not rebound. I think a lot of my stress is coming from the fact that the house is worth 40,000 dollars less than it was before the recession.
More of my stress level comes from the fact that the last thing in the world Mike wants to do is move back to that house. I wish I could afford a different living arrangement for him. Mike is so angry that he can barely speak about what has happened... but basically the man we thought was his dad isn't and Mr. Patterson is also in jail for spousal abuse and assaulting a police officer. Elly is in a mental health facility, where they are playing the name game with her diagnosis. Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform, personality disorder, delusional disorder, depression.... take your pick, she's been diagnosed with them all in the past month as people have tried to help her. Who knows what her actually mental illness is? At this point, I think they are going to start to try different medications on her and see what works.
At some point in the future, Mike is going to try and contact his real father. Believe it or not- Iris tracked him down within 30 minutes. But right now, things are just too complicated for us.
One last stressor- Mike learned that Edgar has diabetics and it's affecting his eyesight.
Later,
Dee
Greetings, dear readers,
There is so much that I do not wish to discuss at this time. Please allow me the room to process what I have learned in private.
I wish Iris a hearty bon voyage as she goes to fulfill some childhood dreams. She's currently in Greece, getting ready to depart to Turkey. After a week in Turkey, she will go to Egypt, and then spend three weeks in Israel. She will finish her trip with two weeks in Rome before moving to Arizona for the winter. She's living more now than a lot of people my age could dream of
I understand what it means to see love completed now. She loved my grandfather so much that she put off her dreams of travel, adventure, constant contact with her family to stay with him after his stroke. She truly deserves the best of what life has to offer..
I stopped by to check on Tim shortly after I arrived. He and the kids are looking so much happier, relaxed and ready to embrace the future. Since I was taking Edgard to the vet to have his cataracts checked on, I had him with me the car. Tricia, Tim's daughter, started to play with Edgar and mentioned that she used to have a rabbit named Easter.
Tim's face clouded over at that and all I could think about was what Moira told me about abusers using pets to control their victims. Sadly, too sadly, this was the Easter's fate.
That night, I took April and Claire out to an Indian restaurant. I explained to them the complicated living arrangements that Dee and I would have for the next four months. Truthfully, Mr. B's fate had been something I had been concerned with prior to this as we will move back to the farm and into a house that was too small. I then told April that I was thinking about giving Butterscotch to Tim's family as they had the time, the room, and the experience to be a good pet owner. She agreed with me.
I can't get what happened to Easter out of my mind. The writer in me wants to sit down with Tim and commit his story to paper. The friend in me wants to have him be comfortable with the idea first. Moira has a fundraiser for a domestic abuse shelter that accepts men and animals in November. I'm going to work with her to make it a success.
Until next time,
Mike