Story Time

Well...it has been awhile since I have posted anything of "substance" here. It is so hard for me to write when I am feeling down.
Hmmm, let me rephrase that, when I am feeling down I don't post much because I don't want to come across as gloomy all the time.
I mean HELLOO?!?! Right?? Nobody likes a "Debbie Downer".
So in order not to depress my readers I have been mostly "Missing In Action", but I must be feeling somewhat better since I am posting now.
Anyhow, It just seems like we've been hit with one blow after another and never anytime in between to recuperate.

Let's go back in time a bit. I can trace this succession of trials and tribulations back to 2004. (We had our fair share of difficulties before this time but this year stands out in my memory because I just couldn't handle it properly anymore). Up to that point we had moved 7 times in 4 years and in retrospect I am certain that I had a complete and genuine nervous breakdown.
Let me explain, We had this one particularly difficult move...I had been alone for three months during a very cold Mississippi winter while my husband was off "military training" again. We were living in a home that was over 100 years old. It did not have insulation and the owner had blocked up all the fireplaces and put in what was supposed to be central gas heating. The problem was that if you had the heat on it never got warmer than 60 degrees and the heating bill was $600 a month which incidentally was the same price as the rent. All the heat was sucked straight outside. I always joked that you could see the outside while you were inside due to the cracks around the doors and window frames. Since we were poor Lieutenants with huge student loans back then we opted to leave the heat off since it didn't make a lick of difference anyway. I lived alone that winter constantly wearing a stocking cap, scarf, mittens and jacket INSIDE the house. It was so cold I could literally see my breath when I woke up in the morning. Oh, and if you had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, forget about it, you could look forward to sitting on an icy cold toilet seat, and let me tell you, once that happens it is hard to get back to sleep.
I might also mention that there were rodent's in the walls that you could hear all night scratching and scurrying here and there. Apparently this had unhinged the previous renters so much so that they nailed all the windows shut.
But I digress.

My husband was due to return home on Christmas Eve that year. I had spent the month of December boxing up all our belongings. Once again the military had failed us when it came to proper notification of our next relocation assignment which meant we didn't have enough warning to bring in movers. This has happened to us on at least three occasions. So that left me to do all the work by myself. My hubby came home, rented a UHAUL and loaded up our stuff...and we spent all Christmas Day driving to our next assignment. We found out later that this was the day of the deadliest tsunami in history.
Lest I forget, I need to mention that I also had walking pneumonia this whole time. This is important to note for later.
So we get to our new place and move into base housing, and let me tell you, it was the most pitiful and dilapidated housing I have ever seen..(and I've seen some bad housing in my time). In fact, and this is the God's honest truth, they condemned and tore it down right after we moved out. My husband loves to tell the story of how I cried the entire time we were moving our stuff into that place. He was so embarrassed as to what our new neighbors might think. But I couldn't help it, I was sick and miserable and I hated the new tiny roach box we were moving in to. I was at my wits end. And besides, since it was the Christmas holiday no one was around to witness my misery. The place was so small that half of our belongings stayed in plastic tubs stacked up outside in the yard. I could vacuum the entire place without ever unplugging the vacuum cleaner. I could wash the dishes, clean out the fridge and cook dinner without ever moving my feet. I was quickly starting to miss the old haunted house we had left behind. Even though it was creepy it was at least spacious.

....to be continued....


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