ibeachalot's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where Were YOU in '92? I think I remember less about 1992 than I do about �72 and �82. I was 25. Kevin and I had been married for two years. We lived in our little house on Geneive Street that overlooked the mountains on one side and the islands on the other. We had been living there since we bought the house in July of 1988. I had long, dark permed hair and was so thin! I looked awesome. Oh to be young and look like that again... I was working at Connie�s Hallmark in Ventura, a job I absolutely loved!! I had the perfect hours - 9:30am to 2:00pm. The store was just busy enough that the time went by quickly, but not so busy that I got overwhelmed. The owner and the manager (his son) worked there everyday so it had a very �family� atmosphere, not like some of the places where I worked that were large and impersonal. I was attending college at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I originally chose interior design as my major, but later changed it to early childhood education. Once while working at the Hallmark store, a man came in to apply for a job we had open. He was an executive in a three piece suit, carrying a brief case. He had been laid off from his $80,000 a year interior design position and was now begging for this $5.00 an hour card shop job. He told me there was absolutely NO demand for interior designers in southern California at that time. He had every college degree available and was still of no use to anyone in the design industry. I quickly re-evaluated my goals where education was concerned. Something else I had always wanted to do was teach preschool. I had bought a book about home day care and thought it sounded perfect for me. I changed my major and began early childhood education and child psychology courses. (You�d think with all this education, I�d know how to better deal with my own kids.) In the spring, I had found what I thought was my true calling. Maybe it was, who knows. I wanted to start my own home day care business. Our house was perfect for it. We had an open floor plan with an extra room we were only using for Kevin�s racing trophies. It was originally supposed to have been the master bedroom, but there was no place to put any furniture! It made the perfect day care room. We had a large, private backyard with plenty of grass for play and a large covered patio where the kids could ride their trikes and bounce balls and such. I began to acquire a supply of toys and equipment. I decorated the room and wrote a sample contract. I set a date to begin working. Before I started my new business, Kevin and I took a trip to Missouri. I was feeling homesick and was itching to move back. I thought if I could convince Kevin, maybe we could move. We flew into Kansas City and drove to St. Louis because the airfare was cheaper into Kansas City. What a pain in the ass it was to drive across the state. Kevin was fascinated with the midwest. He had never seen a water tower, a river or a cow. We shot twenty rolls of film and the majority of the pictures were of cows. And they call us hoosiers? LOL! He was astounded at how much house you can buy compared to in southern California. He loved the rolling green hills and clean countryside. He loved that gas was under a buck. He said he wanted to move. We didn�t make concrete plans, but knew that a move to Missouri was a probability. Upon returning from our trip, I gave notice at the Hallmark store and was in tears as I did. I loved that job so much. I loved my boss and his family (although his son, Tony pissed me off). They gave me a beautiful crystal rose on my last day and had all the employees sign a card for me. As I walked out the door for the last time, I wondered if I was making the right decision. I had worked there for over two years, which had to have been a record for me. I never stayed at any job very long. I�m a restless type. I advertised my new day care business and joined a referral association. I was flooded with calls, many from competitors wanting to check out the new provider on the block. Most though, were from actual parents who wanted to find good care for their kids. I accepted infants, which alot of providers didn�t. I was licensed for six kids and had filled all positions within two weeks. My first baby, a one year old girl named Alex, left me after only a week. I had suspicions about her mother from day one and later my suspicions were confirmed. She was a non-custodial parent and had abducted Alex from her father. I was heartbroken. I fell in love with that little girl! Soon I had a full house. I made really good friends with two of my day care moms, Debbie and Donna. Debbie and I remain close today. Donna and I talk every couple of years. I love their kids like my own. Not all of the kids in my care were favorites of mine. I had a few who really irritated me. Their parents were the ones who abused my policies, paid me late, wrote bad checks and picked up their kids whenever they damn well pleased. They were the ones who made home day care a pain in the ass. Matt turned ten that summer and was a big help with the day care kids. He read to them and played with them outside. We had had a really rough time with Matt in the past and he was finally shaping up to be a good kid this year. We started to experience some financial woes. Kevin received notice that his salary would be cut by 40%. We were already having trouble making our house payment because his business was down. He managed a body shop at a Ford dealership and was paid on commission, plus a small salary. Even with as much as I was bringing in doing day care (around $600 a week, cash) we were struggling to make ends meet. We had several credit cards and they became a crutch for us to live. We were taking cash advances from one card to make the minimum payment on the others. Before we knew it, they were all maxed. Kevin looked into taking another job, but it was the same situation everywhere. We decided it was time to look seriously into the possibility of moving to Missouri. At least if we had financial troubles there, we would only have to come up with $500 rent, as opposed to a $1,500 mortgage payment. Looking back, knowing what I do now, I wish like hell we had stayed and toughed it out. Our house would be worth so much today. *Sigh* It was one of many, many mistakes I made in my life. In October, mom and I flew back here to look at houses. We were looking specifically in the Lincoln County area, which is quite rural. I�m glad we didn�t end up buying there. The schools are horrible. We found a house in the paper we were interested in taking a closer look at. To make a long story short, the house did NOT live up to my expectations. It should have been condemned. It was a piece of shit with no hope of being salvaged. I wanted to throttle the realtor who knew damn well I was flying 2,000 miles away to see that house in particular. We left disappointed, with no contingent offers made on any properties. Hell, I didn�t even see a house I would be given, let alone one I would buy. We spent the next few months getting the house spruced up in preparation of listing it for sale. Kevin called Debbie (Matt�s mom) and said he wanted to take her out to lunch because he had news. She was excited! I�m sure she thought Kevin was asking her out to tell her that he was leaving me and that they could get back together. Hehehehe... stupid bitch. He took her and Matt out to Hi-Ho�s and told them that we were planning to move to Missouri. We were planning to leave Matt there with his mom. As much as Kevin wanted to bring him along with us, we knew that Debbie would never go for that. She gave us a hard enough time letting us see him on holidays, even though we all had joint custody. She was okay with the idea and promised to let Matt visit us whenever we wanted him. (That proved to be a bold face lie later on.) I was so excited to be moving back to Missouri, where life was �simple�. Everyone told me I would regret it and that I would be back. I told them �No way!� Well, we all know where that brings us! 2002... and what do you know... I am moving back to California! 10:52 p.m. - 2002-11-15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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