Things Really Do Happen for A Reason. (approx. 4 - 4½ min. read)

In our last attempt to keep our house, we decided to finish our basement and put in an apartment. We thought if we couldn’t rent out the apartment, it would be a great selling feature if we ended up having to sell.

Not long before the job was finished, Gary had been offered a job that he could physically handle and it would be enough money that with a renter, we could afford to stay in this house. Things were running smoothly and we thought we could see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Our tenant moved in on October 15, 2016 and on the same day, Gary was told the job had fallen through. Here we were, back worrying about how we were going to pay everything and now we had a tenant we had to worry about as well.

Gary and I had each been married prior to us getting together and we each had lost everything we owned in our divorces. Needless to say, our bills are high and we don’t have any savings, so each month we are digging a deeper hole for ourselves and the stress is killing me.

So here we were October 15, and we had to tell the tenant that Gary’s job fell through and we had to put our house up for sale. It was horrible. I felt so bad that this person had just moved in and I had to tell her a “For Sale” sign was going up and she would probably have to leave.

It took me a couple of days to get the up courage to tell her because all I could think about was how much we had just disrupted her life. She had just moved in to her new home and she was being told she would probably have to move, but she took it really well. In fact, she’s been pretty incredible. As you know, I’m not good with strangers and strange noises, and I was really worried I would be more hyper-vigilante, but for the most part it’s been good.

First of all, she isn’t really a stranger; she’s the mother of a woman I know, so I wasn’t fearful of having her in the house. Plus, for the most part she was so quiet I could hardly even tell she was down there. The only things I worried about were not being able to set our house alarm because we only had the one entry key pad, and her forgetting to lock the door. I’ve become almost obsessive compulsive with the doors being locked and for the first month or so, I checked every time she left the house.

Luckily, she only forgot once during that first month, so I was able to trust her and that meant only needing to check the locks once before I went to bed. Don’t get me wrong, I did sometimes check in the morning after I heard her go out, but for the most part, it was all good. Plus having an extra person in the house, especially in the basement where burglars usually lurk, I had little to no problem with not being able to set the alarm.

This brings me to the reason for this week’s blog...

Our tenant moved out last weekend; she moved in with her daughter and family and took everything but the heavy furniture, and will be back for that this weekend. I’ve had three days to get used to having my house back and other than the obvious things like being able to crank my music whenever I want, or not having to make sure the lights are on outside when it gets dark, things are pretty much the same ...but, and it’s a big but, I learned from her.

She is such a laid back person and during the six months she was here, no matter how many agents came through her place, she just rolled with the punches and I aspire to be like her.

For the most part I live on the edge of my seat, but she’s taught me to take a step back and look at things just a little bit differently. She’s taught me that shit happens and it’s not the end of the world. Things really do work out if you sit back and allow them to instead of over-thinking and over-stressing, and I really need to say “thank you” to her.

What they say about things happening for a reason is definitely true because I believe she was meant to come into my life at this particular time, and although I’m sorry for disrupting her life, I’m glad she “disrupted” mine. I’ve learned so much in the last six months and I have to attribute some of that to her and I want to say thanks, from the bottom of my heart.

Stay safe and stay strong, I’m heading off to crank the music and dance like nobody is watching. Thanks for following.