two big ass boxes are sitting on my dining room table…
…and there are many more to come, i’d reckon.
yes, the move-in has begun.
in the past when i’ve been with somebody and it’s gotten serious enough to where a move-in happened…
…wait – let me re-phrase that.
in the past, when i’ve been dating somebody, and they’re life is in such desperate enough for a change that i get duped into LETTING them move in…
…yeah, that fits a bit more.
most people that know me know that i’ve lived in the same place for almost thirty-six of my (almost) forty-three years of life. that’s not normal. but the house was owned by my Mom from september 1978 to her passing in february of 1996. that’s seventeen and a half years. but it’s been mine for almost nineteen years. even though i’ve owned it LONGER than my Mom ever did some (my sister, our childhood friends) still refer to it as “your mother’s house”, or in the case of my sister “the family house”. and teri’s more right – it’s just the “family” is now me, the ufc, and her kiddo.
we’ll see how easily that gets accepted.
but back to the “duped” part. in my nineteen years here the ufc makes woman number four to live here…although, technically, she’s the first one i’ve actually INVITED. the first one where it was MY idea. here’s how it went down…
the redhead – march 1996 – may 1996 – it was right after (as in within the month) that Mom died and emotionally i was a bit weak…and dating a stripper. i figure the rest of this segment pretty much writes itself from there, no? she was couch-surfing and now i had my own place…she was eighteen, so i can’t says i blame her. she was getting a car and the salesman asked for her address. she responded with “the one i’m at now or where i’ll be after the first of the month when i move?”
“you’re moving?”, i silently thought to myself. “hell, at least you don’t own furniture, and i know you’ll expect me to help, but where ya going?”, i continued with my mental dialogue.
then she gave MY address as the new one. and there we were.
hey, at least we’re still friends – her living a time zone away helps with that a LOT.
the psycho – january 1999 – april 1999 – again, some Mom residuals here. this girl was an old friend of my sister’s that it turns out had always had a thing for me…and she had lived with Mom & me the summer i started at 101X and mom was still ailing, but talked about how she liked this girl and thought “we looked cute together” which i dismissed at the time because we weren’t even a thing. so, when we BECAME a thing i thought i was, in some way, posthumously picking a girl Mom approved of. she sure as fuck wouldn’t have approved of the fact the bitch stole her stuff (and quite a bit of mine) on the way out the door (and while she was here) and cheated on me under my own roof. homegirl was in north carolina (where she had moved directly from when she’d stayed with me & Mom) to follow her family but they had all moved back and she was stuck up there alone…my house seemed the logical “come back” since it was where she had departed from, i guess? so even though i thought we were failing as a couple i was convinced it would get better if we were under the same roof. clearly the dates above say otherwise. eventually the hate faded into a short-lived friendship four years later and then faded again for good. just as well.
the foreigner – october 2004 – april 2007 – the record holder as far as longevity is concerned, she still felt like a long-term guest to me. it should also be noted that the “longevity” thing was partially guilt. i was kinda “guilted” into letting her move in because she wanted to get out of the cramped-ass miami apartment where she had to share a bedroom with her mom but couldn’t afford to strike out on her own. then, when we started to fade she didn’t really know anybody around here except my friends (who wouldn’t have taken her in) and so i felt obliged to wait for her to find her own escape plan..so that number should be about a year shorter, which is still a record but given the short-term of the others that’s not saying much.
but the ufc? i have a feeling that will be a WHOLE different ballgame…at least i’m hoping.
I’d say we’re beyond hoping at this point, My Live. 😉