Seriously, guys, I got enough lemons over here to keep China stocked up on lemonade for at least 10 years. The past 8 months have been…. well…. crazy! All I can do is laugh to keep from crying or heading into a depression.
I really did mean to get this blog up and going but when you read this post you will see why it is filled with cobwebs.
December 27th, 2019
Our landlord informs us she has sold the house and we have to move by February 28th. We had an agreement to extend our lease to July 2020. After contacting the landlord tenant board I found out because I never signed an agreement our email agreement held no weight and we had to move.
January
Rent prices in Ottawa are INSANE! We are $30,000 in debt and there is no way in hell we can pay $1800+utilities a month in rent. Heck we only survived Christmas thanks to the Christmas Hamper program through the food bank and my husbands work. We seek out a loan with very low interest to pay off our debt and give us a monthly lump sum payment.
We look into military housing as it is the only thing we can afford. However when we moved out of housing here last time it was not on good terms and I had many choice words for the property manager. He denies us housing. We spend all of January filing memos left, right and centre fighting to get us into military housing.
February
One week into February we find out we won our fight. We have secured housing! Our landlord has agreed to have us not pay January or February rent. We use that to hire movers. There is no way we can do the move on our own. Physically limiting disabilities are a bitch y’all.
We do get a glimmer of shining light in February. Our youngest son gets approved for the Disability Tax Credit. We receive a bunch of money in back pay for the past 5 years. This also helps with our move. We also have heard through the grapevine we are posted. So we put some money away to help with the move we are expecting in the summer.
Mid February I get very sick. Looking back now at all my symptoms, I believe I had COVID. Do not know 100% but I am 95% sure. Packing becomes very slow but in the nick of time we are packing the last of our things as the movers arrive.
March
Well we all know what happened in March. Hello COVID-19. We also receive our posting message. We got the posting we wanted but thanks to COVID we can’t actually proceed with our move. Schools are closed, my husband is off work until furthur notice and I count my blessings that he is military and we lose no money in this pandemic.
Speaking of money. In March we managed to pay off 80% of that loan we got to deal with our debt. Financially things are looking up. We apply for military housing at our new posting and spend the rest of March going stir crazy.
April
What happened in April.. I know something happened. Let me check in with Facebook. Ah, surprise bill from the dealership. Brought my vehicle in to get tires swapped out summer and I find out I have to get a brake job. FML!
It is also announced that schools are closed until the end of May. I just tell myself the school year is done. We are struggling already with this bullshit distance learning and I am already wanting to throw my hands up in defeat and call the school year a write off.
May
May was a REALLY crappy month. Just when you think things can’t get worse you jinx yourself by thinking so. Out of nowhere my Aunt passes away. We had no warning, nothing. She is gone. We are unable to mourn properly thanks to COVID. But that is not all. We also find out an immediate family member has squamous cell carcinoma. In English terms. They have stage 4 cancer.
June
My mom pretty much moves out. Okay she still lives with us but is only home on weekends. She is spending the weekdays with our family member who has cancer. The family member has now received a tracheotomy and has a feeding tube. Much time spent in hospital where we are not able to see them and communication with staff is few and far between.
My oldest son turns 13! Not able to do anything huge but he gets the dinner he wants and we buy What Do You Meme? and have fun playing it as a family. My youngest son receives an award from the school board which is a HUGE accomplishment. He has come so far with learning to deal with his ADHD.
July
Oh July. Many stints in and out of hospital for our family member. Their feeding tube gets removed from their nose and is not surgically inserted into their stomach.
We finally get approval to go and secure housing in our new city. We were supposed to be moving there this month but are now moving in September. We find out there is no way in hell we will secure military housing in time. We end up having to rent in the civilian world. $1720+utilities a month. Our saving grace…. ready for it? …….. As of the end of August we will be out of debt. Well we still have 2 car loans but I don’t count those, we will always have them.
August
Here we are in August. It is August 5th as I write them. As of yesterday, our family member is back in the hospital, very sick. We don’t know what is going on. My mom is struggling. She still has not mourned the loss of my Aunt who was her best friend for 35+ years. She also doesn’t know if she will be able to complete the move with us or stay behind until who knows when to care for this family member. We are all extremely stressed out.
The world is still dealing with COVID. Schools are opening in September and I have some major anxiety over it. As I am sure many parents out there do as well. All I can do is take breathe deep breaths over and over. In and Out… In and Out… In ant Out…
So there you go. I think I have you all caught up. I am sure I missed things but these are the major events and the Coles notes version of the last 8 months of our lives. Pass the booze!