Friday, March 18, 2011

A Story about a Camel and some straws.

Well, it seems the winter spell has (temporarily, because there is always the Easter snowstorm, and then a bit more on May long) broken. Today we awoke to "drip drip dripping" from the For Sale sign that is posted in the front yard. Yes, we are for sale. Actually, pending. we are currently quibbling over details, but will very likely be sold (and then owners of a new house) by Tuesday! Many thing have been happening here! B and N are having a great laugh about the story. I shall share.
"The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back".

Let's see. Where to begin. We live in a "bad" neighbourhood. There is a lot of crime, a lot of people who are on social assistance, a lot of group homes for people who are being rehabilitated from some deviant behaviour or another. Had we known these details, we probably would never have bought this house. But, in blissful ignorance, we did. (Now we know about a fabulous statistic page available that lists all of these things, by neighbourhood!) So we have been here for 5 + years. Only a few bad things happened directly to us. We had car windows broken a couple of times, dog poo all over the lawn, loud kids keeping us up all night because their parents don't care that it is 2 in the AM... Lots of bad things happened around us though. Like the scary night when the 2 rival aborginal gangs armed with garden hoes and shovels met at the intersection in front, the famous motorcycle club that moved in down the block with their mean pit bulls, Police at the drug house several times a week, many a domestic dispute spilling into the alley behind us. Condoms littering the street, likely leftovers from the rub n tug in the apartment building behind us. The local school closed down, and just last week there was an article in the paper about the drug deals and prostitution that go on the the park now. Still, we stayed. Even when a woman's battered, beaten body was left at my daughters bus stop, we stayed. The woman died later that day. I found a short length of rebar on my front lawn. And we stayed. because it was not happening to us, just around us. And we had a wonderfully tiny mortgage, and we found many other reasons to close our eyes, try to ignore it.

But then, the straw. Yes, something finally happened TO us that changed everything. We had some bags of milk jugs in the back yard. We save them up to bring in for a refund, which goes into the girl's savings accounts. Yes, that's horse camp money! And some one just waltzed right into our backyard and took it! Stole from a 7 year old! Well! Keith was furious and announced that he had had enough! So before he could change his mind, I jumped on that wagon, and we listed our house for sale. That was on a Tuesday. We had an offer an Friday, and found a new house Saturday. Whirlwind! Now, we are pending, waiting in limbo for our fates to change. How dramatic. Hopefully I will have an update soon!