Where to begin...
I've been living in my grandmother's house for a little over two years now. When I moved in she told me she'd keep all the bills in her name because she had plans to sell the place. I was essentially house sitting for her, and I would send her a check once a month for all of the utilities (electricity, gas, trash, property taxes, lot fees, rental insurance, etc). Bills were anywhere from $250 to $400 a month. A year goes by, with little problems. I mow the lawn, and do any repairs necessary on the property out of my own pocket. I repainted two bedrooms, and she took $70 off of my rent. The paint and supplies costed more than that.
I get into a car accident last summer and essentially lose my job. During that summer while I was recovering, I repainted the master suite. This costed about the same as the other two rooms, but this time I was not reimbursed. I started school again at UTD, found a part time job at Bath and Body Works in November, and blew through my savings because I wasn't able to find a full time job. I started culinary school in November, and added to my debt (which really has nothing to do with this). During all of this, I get a lawyer and begin a lawsuit to pay for my medical expenses and punitive damages (including lost wages).
Each month, my grandmother would call me with the monthly bill. The first year we would talk about once a week, just to see how things were. Then it went to every other week, and now it's only to tell me how much I owe her.
The last time she visited, in November, pretty much started this whole downward spiral. We were talking, and then she started the next part of the conversation with: "Now, don't tell your mother this, I don't want to upset her..." She asked me to buy the mobile home I live in. With the land, she wanted $53,000 for it. We had, just before this, been discussing the situation with my lawyer and my expectations for the settlement. I was like, wow, um, okay. Let me think about that. I didn't want to come right out and say no, but that was my first thought. Not only is that a ridiculous price, but I don't want to spend part of my life living in Lake Dallas, and I especially don't want to live in a mobile home for that duration. I didn't tell my mom, mainly because I didn't want to deal with it at that time. We never really mentioned it again. I told Mom about it in March because I was stressed about money and she wanted to know why.
January comes around, and I have absolutely no money, and am working about 7 hours a month at BBW. I spent all my Christmas and birthday money on bills and paying utilities to her. I am stressed out. I wait it out a bit longer and get my tax refund money. I'm okay for another month or so. March comes around. I'm completely out of money again. I think this is the time that Dad loans me money. I'm okay for a few weeks. I eventually cash in my 401k from JCPenney and can breathe for a bit. I start working about 7 hours a week instead of month and am able to pay for a few things on my own.
June hits. I have no money and I don't want to ask anyone again for money. Stevie lost his job, so Mom can't help. Lauren (my bff) does everything she can to help me, and finds me a job. I start the 30th. I can't pay Grandma right away, but send her a check for about $100 because that's all I have. I get paid again on July 15th, but it's only for one days work, and my check at BBW is less that I thought. I send her what I can. July 31st rolls around and all my bills are due at the end of the month, so all I can send her is about $100 again.
Let me backtrack a bit...
Grandma's house is on the edge of the Tennessee River, which is steadily eroding. In April or May, it gets so bad that she has to move her house. So, she puts herself into a hotel, and awaits the moving of her house back some feet from the river edge. This takes forever. Every time she called me, she reminded me that she was in a hotel and how much it was costing her (not in actual dollars though) and on and on... July rolls around and it's still not done. By this time, her company is apparently not getting any business, and so she is low on income, much like myself.
So, that might be enough backstory...
The last few times she called me, she made it sound like I needed to pay her immediately so she could pay for her hotel. It didn't matter that I didn't have enough money for groceries or anything and that all of my money was going to her. It didn't matter that I was getting further into debt paying for gas to get to school because I was close to overdrawing every month. All that mattered was that her house still wasn't moved yet and it was costing her all of this money and.... She forgot Stevie's birthday and said she'd send him a card after Mom reminded her. He's yet to receive it (his birthday was 7/3). She never talks to my brother on the phone, and never asks about him. She was all aflutter because my uncle and cousin were coming to visit and the house still wasn't ready for them.
Yeah, anyway...I borrow money from Josh to pay my credit card bills because all of the money I had for anything ever went to her. She called me about a week and a half ago and said that I owed her $700 and I needed to do something about it immediately or find some way to do it. She said she was being patient, but her company isn't doing any business right now and they're still trying to pay for this house. There felt like there was an implied "or else" in there.
She called while I was at school. She always calls when I'm at school.
I burst into tears, of course. What else can I do? I go to school 25 hours a week. I work 20 hours a week at one job, and 7 to 16 hours a week at another job. Am I supposed to get a third job? Should I sell plasma?
I cancelled my internet. My air conditioning was already broken, so I keep that off and just run one fan. I spend a lot of time out of my house because it's so hot. I eat everything in my pantry so I don't buy groceries. I spend a lot of time with Josh for food and so I don't die of heat exhaustion. It's August...
I called my momma. I forwarded her the voicemail Grandma had left me. Mom was livid and called her. Mom and I decided that I needed to move out, right away, because there was nothing left for me to do. I'm supposed to be out by the end of the month. Mom told her to not call me again, and any communication should be by mail or through her.
The next day I get a call from Grandma while I'm at school. She's all sad and doesn't understand why I'm moving out, and that's not what she said, but I need to find some way to pay her now.
Then I get a letter. Mom gets a copy of it too, and tells me to toss it before I read it. So I do. I wish I had kept it, but, oh well.
That brings me to this week, more or less. I'm moving out. I get my storage unit today (Monday) and move in to my new place tomorrow. Oh, the thing is, I didn't have a place or any idea of where I was going to move to. Luckily, I have an awesome stepfamily, and am moving to Plano. I'm moving in with Stevie's brother's wife's cousin and her family. I'll have one room for about $100/month. Anyway...
Everything is getting to be okay, except for one thing. I have to get rid of my kitties. And I'm avoiding thinking about it because I really don't want to, but I don't have a choice.
Does anyone want two kitties? They aren't fixed or declawed, but I'd give them to anyone with their bowls and food and litter box... They were both born outside. Minerva is fiesty but will be petted, and Virginia is a sweety. She loves to be petted. Minerva is a silver tabby mutt, and Virginia is a calico. They are both about 2 years old.
