In 1987, we moved our four young children into a house with no kitchen, and a bathroom with only a toilet and tub. It was also a house my hubby bought without telling me. This house was supposed to be temporary. I’m glad I didn’t know then I’d live there for the next twelve years. This is how it happened.
“Oh Honey, by the way, I just wanted to let you know I put a bid on that old house down the road from us. It’s the one on the corner. I don’t think I’ll get it, because I put a real low bid in. It’s a real fixer-upper, and it could make a great investment.” My Hubby informed me as we were on our family trip to Florida.
“WHAT? Are you kidding me?” Totally taken by surprise. “Don’t you think you are busy enough?” I tried to muster up in my mind, what or how was he thinking? But that’s not possible. I cannot think like an engineer. They are a breed of their own. I was silent and then he said.
“Look, I’m sure I’m not going to get it because someone else bid higher than me and he was turned down. I just put the bid in just to see what happens.”
“If you do get it, how can we afford it?”
“Trust me, we can afford it with the low bid I put in. Don’t worry. It will all work out.”
Sure, my optimistic Hubby is always up for risk-taking. I’m not. I want my money in the bank, not in some questionable investments.
“You were supposed to go to the real estate office to get some ideas about selling our home and also have the realtor start looking for our new house,” I uttered.
“Well while I was there, the realtor told me of this great rental investment opportunity, I just couldn’t pass it up. I didn’t want to bother you with the details. Anyways, I don’t think I’ll get it.”
“So, I take it your hobby has become renovating rental houses? And why didn’t you at least say something to me?” I asked.
“It’s easier to ask forgiveness, then to ask for permission. Plus, I wanted to save the agony of explaining it all to you. Actually, I didn’t think you’d care. That’s why I just went ahead with the proposal. Anyway, it is just a rental home. You will never have to live in it.”
Well, to our surprise the low bid on the fixer-upper house was accepted, and we were the proud owners. What Hubby and the realtor didn’t know was, the next bid that came in, that would pay for the back taxes, had to be accepted. So now we owned a rundown fixer-upper.
Hubby called the realtor and said, “We want to put our house up for sale.” So, he did. A group of real estate agents came to view the house and one of them had a buyer that same week. They didn’t even put up a for sale sign. Never thought that would happen. We thought it would take at least a couple months to sell.
“Well, NOW what are we going to do?” I ask.
“I guess I need to call the realtor and make an appointment for you to see the house. Sorry honey never thought this would happen. Trust me, it will all work out.”
For Better or Worse?
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“We may have to move in that house, so now my wife needs to see it. When can we go?” Hubby asks the realtor. The realtor was embarrassed; he didn’t want to take me to see the house. He couldn’t believe I was leaving such a beautiful home and going to such a wreck. He apologized when he met me, and I knew I was in for a rude awakening. I can’t really explain how the house looked except that it was close to a chicken coop and smelled like one.
When our house sold so fast we asked the buyers of our beautiful house if we could have more time. It all worked out that we could stay in our home until they sold their house. Hubby started to take the rental house apart, gutting the whole house. He put on a new roof, hauled out semi-loads of trash, and worked into the wee hours of each morning.
The only consolation for me was that this was only temporary, and as soon as this house was done, I would be out of there. We would rent it out, and we would buy our lovely new home.
I did things that I never in my life thought I could do or would even think of doing. I will not say that this time of my life was very pleasant or that our marriage was bliss with happiness. But I married him for better or for worse. This might classify for one of the worse times. Let me clue you, being submissive to an engineer who can fix anything, is the worst. Black is black and white is white. “Of course, you can pick up that bag of cement and patch the holes in the garage wall. Just read and follow the directions.”
My parents came faithfully every week to help us with this huge project. How fortunate that my father picked up that bag of cement and knew how to patch the holes in that garage wall. God always leaves a way for an escape, when it’s more than you can handle.
One day, Mom and I worked on a big job, taking down a bedroom ceiling. Dust, dirt, and debris were falling on us, while we were pulling the plaster down. As we were cleaning up, Mom said, “What is that peculiar smell?” Then we noticed that the heat ducts were all corroded, rusty, and awful smelly. Mom concluded that the heat registers were used as a temporary upstairs bathroom.
How can a princess like me (that’s what Hubby sometimes calls me) be in a situation like this? I wanted out of that house before I even moved in. It was a good thing I didn’t know how long we were really going to live in that house.
It was moving day, a beautiful summer day, and our house was far from done. We moved into a house with no kitchen and a bathroom with only a toilet and a tub. Not the one pictured above, but all new and clean. The only rooms finished were the living room and the basement. The children set up their bedrooms in the basement with two sets of bunk beds. It was a long time before it could be finished so we sent the children to camps, grandparents, trips to relatives and any other event that kept them from needing to be home. That gave Hubby and I time to get things looking more like a house by the time school started in the fall.
Yes, we lived in the house for twelve years and lots of things happened while living there. Our children grew up, went to college and our son left for the Marines. Lots of good memories and some sad. It was the sandwich years, taking care of my aging parents and taking care of my family. Some years were very difficult, but all in all, the house became a home we learned to love, and it was perfect for our growing family. It was better than we ever thought.
While living there, Hubby was working for GE when another company, LDI, offered him a job. Once again, he didn’t apply for a job. Well, within a few years LDI sold and the new company didn’t want Hubby, because he was overqualified. It also just so happened Hubby injured his back. He was in such pain, that losing his job sort of didn’t matter. He could hardly walk, and he couldn’t work on anything. He just laid on the living room floor. He went to a specialist, but he kept saying it would go away. After pleading, the doctor agreed to do more tests and he was scheduled for myelography. It can detect if there is a spinal cord injury.
The day of the test they found out his spinal cord was pinched. He was rushed into emergency surgery. The nurse came out during surgery to tell me that there was a possibility that he would be paralyzed. What a shock! News that I didn’t want to hear. When I went to see him after surgery, I asked, “Can you move your toes?”
He said, “Of course, I can move my toes!” He’s always positive. He walked out of the hospital the next day. He was in less pain, then when he walked into the hospital for his test.
