It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written a blog. It’s one of those things, you know—life got busy and some of my passions had to take a back seat. How crazy is it that when life gets stressful, our body’s first instinct is to shut down and ignore the things that make us feel happy. Often we use the excuses, “I’m too tired,” or “I don’t have enough time.” That may be true. Many of us work jobs that wear us down so much physically and mentally that we begin to neglect our hobbies and stop doing the things that make us enjoy life. I don’t have great advice on how to stop doing that, because I haven’t figured that out for myself yet.
So, today, I’m going to use this blog to update everyone on everything that’s been going on. In April, I closed on a home and in May, I finished up work on my bachelor’s degree. Life was getting exhausting, but I’m happy to finally have some free time.
On April 9, 2021, I officially closed on my childhood home. I purchased the home from my mom and her husband who are going through a divorce. We began talking about me buying the place in December and in February we signed a purchase agreement, guaranteeing the sale. I’m so thankful we signed that agreement because a month later, for whatever reason, my mom’s husband tried to back out of the sale. Luckily, the agreement was legally binding.
To be honest, the entire ordeal was and has continued to be very stressful. Let me take a second to vent…
My mom’s husband will not go away and doesn’t understand that he no longer owns the place and can’t keep his stuff there. I still have his tractor in my yard that I can’t get him to come take. After giving him weeks to remove his things, we actually bought him a storage shed and moved all of his stuff for him… and let me tell you, it was a lot!
He makes nearly $5,000 a month but has people feeling bad for him because he’s choosing to live in his truck. Oh, and he’s a registered sex offender (which is why my mom is getting the divorce) and refuses to admit he did anything wrong and makes people believe it was the underage girls fault, despite spending 90 days in jail for his crime.
On top of that, some of the land next to me is still owned by my mom and he is insistent that he plans to build a shed right next to both of us and move into it. I couldn’t make this up if I tried, and honestly, it might make a good book some day.
Anyway, moving in general was stressful for me because we have so much stuff. Even Caesar and Jeter have a lot of stuff. I filled several bags full of dog toys (and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of any of them). Jeter adjusted really well to the home. Caesar didn’t want to eat much for the first week, but today, he’s back to normal.
What I love about being in an actual home is the space. There is so much space for everyone. The boys have a big house to run around in, Caesar has a pond to swim in, and Jeter has a big yard to run through. We even have a barn with some chickens, and Jeter has enjoyed checking out the birds, through they don’t exactly love that he tries to sniff them.
The house also came with some stray cats. One of the first things I did was get two of the cats fixed. The third cat had babies right before she was set to be spayed, so now she and her kittens will have to wait a few weeks before they can also go get fixed. I believe the responsible thing to do is to spay and neuter your pets, even if they are strays that hang around your home.
For the past month we’ve been working on renovations, cleaning, and trying to make the place look nicer.
On top of that, I’ve been finishing up the last few weeks of my bachelor’s degree. As of May 12, 2021, I officially have a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in writing and a minor in religious studies. It feels so good to be done.
I began working on my degree in 2014 and knew it would take me a long time. When I first started I thought, “This mountain is so big.” I felt wearying looking into the future. But I’m so glad I started. Because I started in 2014, I’m done today. I always say, “The best time to start working on your dreams is now.”
So now what? Honestly, I’m not totally sure. I’ve been looking at various jobs trying to find something that best fits my passions. I’ve applied at a few places I think will be a good fit. I do like my current job, but quite honestly, they pay is too low and there is no opportunity for advancement. I have bigger dreams and aspirations than what can be found where I am now.
I also plan to further my education and dive into the Master’s program in the fall at Purdue Fort Wayne. I’ll be majoring in English Literature with the goal of someday teaching literature at the college level.
As you can see, life has been a bit busy, but I’m hoping that with a bit more free time now that summer break has started, I’ll be back to writing blogs as usual! I did just move for the 6th time with Caesar and the 3rd time with Jeter, so I plan to write a blog about how you can keep your dog even when you move.
FINALLY! AN UPDATE! 😛
Even though I always see you at work.. good job and congratulations <3