Where to Start, Where to End

 

I don't know where to begin with this post. It has been a horrible year all the way around. My aunt died May 22nd, funeral several days later, then home. Then I hit a curb at CVS just over a week ago. I blew out the tire, road side couldn't fix it ($200), had to tow it ($161), both charged me. Then the shop called, and I didn't need just one tire. The other tire also needed replacing ($300). 

Then, a week later, the toilets and tub backed up. Repair man came out. To rod it out was $400. Or I could repair the line because it has an air conditioner sitting on top of it that may have damaged the line, causing repeated blockages ($5000). But, if I could dig the hole to lay the line from the house, around the air conditioner, to a place they'd tie in the new line, it would be cheaper. 

So, we dug the hole with a shovel. On the 9th David worked 45 minutes, but I knew it wasn't deep enough and particularly since we had not found the line where they would connect to the main line. Mike and I dug about 45 minutes to dig the trench from the house to the hole where it ended. We dug three feet down and found the main line. They repaired it on the 10th. Yesterday, I had swollen and sore hands. Today just they're just sore. 

How much did digging that hole save me? The repair job was $1900. You can do the math.

So now toilets are working. The car is working. I need to call my aunt. I have needed to call her every day since I got home. I really need to talk to her. She won't answer, of course. 

Today I spent the day reading the Book of James. Nothing else. Just that. It's five chapters, but I took my time highlighting verses that were familiar and considering the meanings and implications. I was surprised to find that we quote so many verses from this small book in the Bible. I doubt we quote Paul as much as we do James. It was astonishing. And I also found that most of those verses, well, you won't like this, but I believe it's true. Most of us simply ignore them. We know them, but we don't follow them. 

Tell me which ones you follow. I'll wait. Because that won't be a long list. Blow up the image and you can see most of them. Actually, don't tell me. Just be honest with yourself. 

I took Mike to lunch in the afternoon and Firehouse rules.

Now, I'm finishing this day with this post. I haven't been writing much for the last year. Most of that time I've been in financial freefall and physical distress. I've spent a lot of time praying and asking why. But I suppose it's just life doing what it does. Casualties sometimes result. But Mama told me that if everything is going wrong, you must be doing something right.

All I could think of when my aunt died was that there was no one left to call for help or prayer or just to talk things out with. She was the last. She knew me longer than my own parents. Sixty-eight years she was part of my life and knew more about me than any living person. There was nothing we couldn't talk about. And just like that, being alone means something different.  

My cousin wants me to move to Georgia. I have nothing here that matters anymore. But I'm too old to start over, and I've already paid for my burial plot next to Jerry. So, unless I win the lottery, I'm here for good. Since I don't play the lottery... well, that's that.

Can't Catch A Fish

 I have so much to say! Where to start? I really don't want to give you a litany of my woes, but this is a personal journal and honestly, I need to just get it out. Struggling to cope with a hopeless situation is exhausting, and it affects my health, I'm sure. So, feel free to leave with no hard feelings. 

I haven't posted since January 5, but things have been hectic getting Sarah sorted out and managing a severe infection. However, my sinus infection has cleared up, and the cough is finally lessening. I had so much drainage I nearly drowned from it at night. 

Since October, I've been ill. I've had financial issues related to the car and house that totally wiped me out. 

By December, I worried about how I was going to keep paying some bills. It isn't like I have any hope of an increase in money. There was no raise for seniors when Biden did his pay hike. Retirement is set. Social Security and a widow's pension get a once a year cost-of-living increase. This year they gave us about $50 in COLA. That's average for Social Security. There is no other source and ain't nobody gifting me anything. And Caesar is going to get his denarii and I don't fish. (Matt 17:24-27)

In January, I started renting a room to a friend, and that has helped some. She is saving to buy a house so she won't be here forever, but it has helped keep the bills paid. And she's lovely company when she's here. 

I thought I'd be able to get the bank account revived. Then the home and auto insurance doubled. I had to worry about whether I could drive my car or if I should sell the car. It's paid off. It would get me out of a bind to sell it. So, you can imagine how concerned I was. And there is no one to call for help. 

So I prayed. But then, I have been praying for 8 months about the problems that just keep getting worse. And I shopped for insurance. I called a company I used before and could get insured for half of what the other company was going to charge me. That's $100 a month saved. Answered prayer! But it doesn't solve my problems. 

For a few weeks now, I've thought about finding a job. How do I do that? I can't work full time with my RA. In fact, for two weeks now, I've had trouble walking and holding things. I guess it is a flare, but I can't be sure. I just know getting up and down is literally a pain. 

The bright spot in my world is Sarah. If you've read this blog before, you know she lived with me for about 9 yrs as a child. She has been away with her Dad for about 7. This December she came home to live again. It is so good to see her and for weeks now I've watched her blossom in her independence and confidence. I thought she was gone for good. 

She is amazing. We began working on getting her into GED classes and looking for a job. She attended her first official class today. Tomorrow, she goes to work at Hardee's 5 minutes from home. She got the job on her own. I helped with getting her enrolled in class. Yesterday, I got her work clothes prepared and an outfit for school. Can you believe she is 17? Watching her is so encouraging and exciting.

So there you have the last 6 months in a nutshell. I may have mentioned some of this in a previous post, but I do not remember. I have always been able to figure out a solution to problems and eventually solve them. But now, I have no solution. For the first time in 20 yrs, I don't know what I'm going to do. Wait till the ax falls, the shoe drops, or the end comes. It doesn't seem to matter which. 

I apologize for this post. It isn't very interesting, but it is a peek into what life is like when you have no one to turn to in a crisis. Once, I could handle anything that came. Now, I'm tired.