What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been Part 10

I hate change!

We had been living with my out-laws, who I love dearly, with the hopes that less responsibility would take some pressure off. That hadn’t made much difference in my mood swings, and it was feeling very crowded, especially when my wife’s sister and her family moved in. So, we decided it was time to move on.

This Old House

We bought a house with the intent to fix it up and resell it, so we didn’t care what neighborhood or school district it was in. The house was about 1200 sq ft with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Since we weren’t going to be there long, and the kids were little, it would work.

Moving Day

Since I hate change, especially moving, we decided to stay there while my wife flipped a few other houses. She planned on flipping one a month till we got the money we needed to get the house we wanted. Unfortunately, it took 6 months to fix up the first house and just as long to sell. Since our kids were now in school and we didn’t like the house, the neighborhood, or the school district, we decided to buy some land and build a house. We bought 20 acres with a beautiful view of the rolling hills. We bought a double-wide trailer with the plan to live in it while we were building the house.

Dream Building

My wife would talk about the house we were going to build. It would to be two stories with a walk out basement and have enough space for our families to gather. Because the house was on a hill, we were going to build a concrete waterslide into the hill that would end at a pool. There would be a go-cart track. We were going to have horses, dogs, and any other kinds of animals the kids wanted. All I could see was the dirt and a doublewide.

Say What?

At the last minute the bank decided that we owed more money on the land than it was worth and would not loan us money for the house, so we gave up on our dream home. Since the double-wide could not be permitted, except as a temporary dwelling, we couldn’t keep it. With no other options, we sold the land.

Across Town

Now what?! My wife was intent on moving to another school district, so we decided to move into a rental across town while she fixed up our house to sell.  While I liked the newer, larger house, and the amazing school district, my commute was now 40-50 minutes instead of 5 minutes. I hated being in traffic. It reminded me of the commute in AZ before my first hospital stay. I noticed my depression coming back and staying longer.  

The Crash

It was now 2008 and the real estate market crashed. Our house didn’t sell! We could not afford to keep paying rent and a house payment. This meant another move back into the sketchy neighborhood and the house we hated with only one bathroom. Two moves in less than a year. Did I mention I hate change!!