Day to day living

December 11, 2010

Two weeks and two days before Christmas. Living in a motel. Had to get an extra room for all of us and the pets. $122.00 per day. $854.00 per week. This is killing us. But what are the alternatives at this moment? We have no relatives in the area except for Uncle Alan who is 74 years old with multiple health issues and living in a senior apartment complex. Of course, I suppose you could consider my daughter’s father and his wife who also live in the area but he wasn’t there for his children while they were growing up and he hasn’t made a move to help them as adults so he isn’t really an option either. This is why I am here. I may only have a limited income to contribute to this brood but I am here to help with grocery shopping and driving the boys to school and helping with homework. I could walk away and be fine on my own but what would that mean for the rest? Hillary Clinton was right when she said it takes a village.

Mike has returned from his southward journey to offer support and to try and talk his mother into renting us her empty house in Marin. I don’t hold out much hope for the bitch helping in any way. She has already begun the manipulation game with Mike. He is still in the recovery process from his last binge but he is trying. I don’t know where he will go from here but it was gallant of him to return to us in hopes of being a help.
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December 13, 2010

Two days later now and we are leaving the motel this morning to stay at a friend’s house while my son-in-law drives to the North Bay to work for a few days. Mike’s mother offered us the house at the discount price of $2700.00 a month, with first, last, and deposit upon move in. Needless to say he told her where to put her offer and ended the call. The house is nice but not that nice and she just wants to show how in control she is. He is now in process of writing a letter to her notifying her that he will seek judicial recourse if she does not evict renter in the house they own together so that he can have access to the house. He has asked her repeatedly over the past several years about his living in the house and she has said that it is currently rented. He does not benefit from it being rented. He does not see any of the money. So, he will proceed with a claim of ouster through the court system. The house is a cape cod, brought over from the 1939 World’s Fair held in New York. It sits on the San Francisco Bay and has a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Mike is not with us here. He drove the RV over to Marin to see if he could stay with friends until something positive happens for us here on the Peninsula. We are hoping for a Christmas miracle.
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December 14, 2010

These kids are champs. They roll with the punches and accept the disappointments and inconveniences of living in first a motel and now at a friend’s. They understand that things are hard right now and they troop on, all with a smile on their face and laughter billowing out around them. They wrote their letters to Santa and sent them off. They know that while Santa will leave something for them wherever they are Mom and Dad may not be able to buy any presents this year. They know that being loved and kept fed and sheltered is enough right now.

We are the lucky ones. How many families are out there with no friends, no jobs, no shelter, and no food? We are grateful for all we have knowing that we are the lucky ones.