It's been awhile since I've posted anything here, mostly because I was watching our rapid decline and thinking, "Who the hell would want to read this???" But it's time to move on, literally and figuratively.
I've been substitute teaching in 3 different school districts, and J., my wonderful husband, hasn't been able to find work for the past 2 and 1/2 months. He was working at a car dealership for a few months, but they closed down after he was there for only 3 months, and he hasn't been able to find anything since.
We're drowning in bills, and we're never going to be able to catch up. We're doing everythng we can, but it's not adding up.
So, we're moving. We're planning on selling as much of our things as we can - books, tvs, furniture, tools, and then we're going to use what we get out of that to start over. For many of my friends, this economic downturn has been a cause for concern, but hasn't changed their lifestyles in any way. For J. & I, we're living a modern day Depression, complete with food stamps and very little money coming in, and a bleak forcast for our employment future in our current location. So, like the Joad family in "The Grapes of Wrath", we're packing up all we can carry, and moving to warmer climes with hopes of better prospects. I know the Joads started out in Oklahoma so the warmer climes part doesn't really apply to them, but we're starting out in the Pocono Mountains in northeastern PA. It's cold here. Really cold. We figure someplace warmer will mean less heating costs in the winter! And hey - in a warmer climate, if we can't find a place to live that we can afford, we can always stay in my tent! We have some cities in mind - well, we've really narrowed it down to one area, in the southwest. It'll be completely different environs than what we're used to - we both grew up in the suburbs of NJ, and neither of us has ever set foot in the state we're interested in, so it is going to be a bit of a culture shock! But they say when you're falling, dive, and that's what we're doing. We're diving. We're moving on with intention, not just letting things happen to us until we're literally out of money and on the street. I like to think that this experience will make me a better person, or enrich me in some way, but really I think I could have done without it!!! Or maybe not. Maybe this is going to be the most exciting and wonderful experience of my life! At this moment, anything is possible.
