Fingers Crossed, Please and Thanks

I’m sitting at the library again doing what I can do to keep myself occupied while my kids are in school. With luck I won’t have to do this much longer. I know you want to know why so go ahead and ask. Ok, I’ll tell you. Tomorrow morning at 9:00 I have an appointment with the apartment complex where I lived before I moved back to NY. The appointment is for them to collect my financial information and decide how much rent I’ll be paying when they assign me to a residence there. You heard that, right? I’m getting a place to live after two long years. It’s back in the same complex, and it’s still income-based but I don’t care. I’ll take it.

After they go over my financials it isn’t supposed to take very long before they have me sign a lease and give me keys, perhaps a week or so. Fingers crossed for me please because we really need this. I can’t stand living in other people’s homes and the shelter was just a stepping stone to get us back to where we need to be. Yes, it was a stepping stone; somewhere we had to be because that’s where the Universe wanted us at the time. Now we’re back here in MO and so looking forward to getting my own home again. I even walked around Dollar General yesterday making a mental list of all the supplies I’ll need once the kids and I get our stuff relocated to our home.

I really don’t like shopping but if it means I’ll have what I need to make a home for the kids and me then I’ll just have to suffer through it. We sold almost everything we had before we left, and got rid of the cleaning supplies and whatnot so we’re really starting over. We’ve still got bedroom furniture; the boys have all of theirs, Dolly still has her dressers and I’ve got my bed but I have no dressers and she’s got no bed. We’ve also got our bookshelves, my curio and china cabinets, and our TVs but that’s pretty much it for furniture.

I did visit a thrift store the other day and was told by the lady who runs the place that when I bring her a lease she can help me get the furniture we still need – at no cost to me. She said the bedroom stuff may take a week or two but that’s okay. Dolly and I have survived this long without anything so I’m sure we can survive a few more days without it. The thrift store can also help us get the sundries we need for our home – lamps and things like that. Awesome, isn’t it? I think so too. New home, new furniture, a new life. Aaaaahhhhhh…

I also can’t wait to get hooked up with cable again. I have to have Internet to work and I need a home phone. I love having a cell phone and I’m grateful to my friend for paying for me to have one but I really need to get a home phone so I don’t have to constantly carry my phone with me wherever I go in case it rings. And on the selfish side, I really need my movie channels back again. I used to watch movies at night during my free time and haven’t done that in a long while. I’d rather watch movies than regular TV, except for “Supernatural” of course, and I’m really yearning to have my movie channels back again.

It all hinges on this interview tomorrow morning. I’ve already printed to documentation I have to bring with me and I’m even bringing the deposit with me in case I’m allowed to pay it while I’m there. I will also be asking a lot of questions to find out exactly how long it takes before I’m approved to move in, and I’ll make sure they know that I will do anything I can to speed up the process, and I will, too. I’ve done it before, made phone calls to get the contacted agencies to send my information to the rental office immediately so there was no hold-up in the processing. I’ll do it again.

For right now, though, I’m going to find something to do while the kids are still in school for the day. I won’t leave the library; I’ll just find something to do on the Internet to occupy my time. What I’d like to ask of you is that you please send all the positive energy that you can to me so I can speed up the waiting time and get into my home quickly. And please keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. I’d really appreciate it and I’ll definitely let you know how things work out for me tomorrow.

Until next time…peace to all.

Just Me and My Library

The kids started summer school yesterday, I think I told you they were going to. Since I want to save gas money and have to drive them to and from school I spent yesterday sitting in the library with my laptop using the free Wi-Fi to get a few things done. Guess what. I’m back here today. I’m only a few minutes from their school and I get some time to myself. I’m sitting downstairs in the library set up at a table with three other chairs, all empty, just doing what I have to do. I chose a table close to the wall so I can have a plug and I’ll be out of everyone’s way, and so I can watch the few passersby that happen to come downstairs. It's nice but I do wish the chairs were more comfortable than they are.

These are the typical wooden chairs, four to a table, with a small cushion at the top of the back of the chair. I guess my upper back is supposed to be comfy but my butt is allowed to ache. There are a couple of sofas upstairs in the library but I didn’t notice any plugs near them and I kind of like sitting alone and don’t want someone else there, possibly spying on me. Not that anyone would spy on me because I’m not all that interesting and don’t really do anything spy-worthy on my computer but still…I don’t want to get stuck sitting next to someone who may smell bad or might have an annoying cough or tic. You know what I’m talking about.

So down here I sit…alone; or semi-alone, today anyway. I’m being joined by a gentleman who, I presume, wanted to be alone to do what he needs to do on his laptop. He actually sat at the table in front of me and set up his own little space. He’s very quiet and polite – actually said “thank you” when I ‘blessed’ him after sneezing, and he’s just hanging out like I am. I don’t think he has kids in summer school, though; he looks like his kids may all be grown. Doesn’t matter, I don’t really care. I’m just sitting here talking to you and wondering why the library is supposed to be quiet but isn’t.

All around me I can hear people talking, beeps coming from some sort of electronic device where the talking is coming from, keys jingling as someone walks, pages turning as someone looks through a book (but I guess that’s supposed to happen – this is a library.) It’s amazing how much you can hear in the quiet of the library if you really listen. There was a baby crying earlier but I guess the mom left or the baby fell asleep because it stopped and I haven’t heard it since.

I was listening to the clack of a woman’s shoes a few minutes ago and wondering why there are small sections of the library that don’t have carpeting. Wouldn’t you think they’d put carpet all over the floor to keep the noise level down? I would. Just imagine what it would sound like if there was no carpeting at all!! Yikes!! It was bad enough when I walked in the front door and my sneakers were squeaking on the tiled section from the rain outside. Yes, I said the rain is outside. Why? Because if any of you are anything like me and I’d stopped the sentence at the word ‘rain’ you’d have given a sarcastic comeback – like I would have – about it raining in the library.

So, my sneakers were squeaking as I walked in and there is no way to stop it from happening unless I was able to hover above the floor until I reached the carpeted area, which of course we all know I can’t do so stop trying to imagine it. Yes, it would be cool; no, it’s never going to happen. But it was noisy while it was happening and the squeaks seemed really loud with the open space and echo capability. Thank goodness I didn’t have to walk very far; I’d have taken off my shoes just to avoid the noise if that was the case. At least my feet don’t stink.

Anyway, I’m going to get back to doing what I need to do right now; just wanted to check in with you all and give you a glimpse into my day. The library isn’t such a bad place and I get to use my laptop. I just wish they had some sort of snacks or something here. I guess it would get pretty messy if they did, though, with people not picking up after themselves and all. A separate snack room would work but then they’d have to stock it and get someone to keep it clean and what if they had donuts that I don’t like? That would suck. I guess it’s better this way then, less disappointment for me. Leaving now, back soon. Enjoy whatever it is that you do.

Until next time…peace to all.

Home But Waiting Again

So it’s been a little over a week that the kids and I have been back in MO. We’re staying with friends in Kansas City and I have to say that while I’m grateful for the opportunity to get out of the shelter where we were it’s still not our own home. We have our own space and our belongings – it sure is nice to sleep in my own bed after almost a year – but my friends don’t have cable so I’ve got no Internet access unless I go sit in McDonald’s parking lot or at the mall to use the free Wi-Fi connections. I’m going to check with Comcast on Thursday to see about getting a wireless modem and then just take it with me when I get my own place, which I hope will be soon.

After checking with the Independence Housing Authority I’ve found out that the waiting list hasn’t moved yet and they’re still working on applications from last June and I applied in August. I also had to reapply to Hawthorne Place, where we used to live, because the property manager who’s there now wasn’t there when I applied last year so she can’t review my application. This sucks. Without Internet I can’t work for Ursula like I’m supposed to be doing and without my own place I can’t really look for work because I don’t know yet where I’ll be living. I really need the Universe to speed things up for me so I can figure out which steps to take next.

I did enroll the kids in summer school, it’s optional here, and gives the kids something to do during the day for a month. Zach and Dolly were and still are excited to be going but Ty fought me on it for a day or so. He just doesn’t want to go but I really don’t have a choice. He’s got nothing to do sitting around the house all day every day and summer school is going to be at their old school so he’ll see his old friends and teachers, something familiar to make him feel more comfortable. He’s okay with going now so I’m at ease with that. I’ll have to drive them to and from every day, though, because we’re not in the district right now. I just have to do what I have to do.

I also got my van tagged, via mail, before I left NY, and got it inspected right after I got here. I also had to re-test for my license since it was expired for a while before we got back. Shh…don’t tell anyone. J I’m 100% legal now, though, so I feel better about that. And the kids and I attended the PACT group that we’d attended for four years before we left. We’d stopped by CAPA one day just to say hello and the kids all asked if we could attend PACT so we did. They liked it and want to continue going again. The group has changed in the way it was run since I was last there, and there isn’t anyone but staff that I recognize, but it was nice all the same. Just one more thing on the side of familiarity.

In any case, I’m sitting at a friend’s house using the Internet here just to check in with you all and let you know that things are still moving for the kids and me. Fingers crossed please that we’ll get a call for our own home soon and that we can move forward with our lives. After living like this for the past two years I definitely need a place to call my own, where I’m responsible for all the bills and can set the rules as I see fit. Thanks for hanging in there with me and I’ll be back as soon as I get the time. Once I get into my own home and/or have constant Internet access I’ll begin writing about the journey that got us back here; in the meantime I hope all is well for whomever is reading this and that the Universe is providing everything you need when you need it. It does for me.

Until next time…peace to all.

Still Here and Getting Ready to Move

I haven’t been here for a while because I’ve been busy. Sorry. I’ve been working and trying to get my kids and me out of this shelter. After all my months of searching and putting the energy out to the universe my efforts have paid off. Next week my kids and I will be leaving the shelter for good and going back to Missouri. The State is paying to move our belongings and paying for gas money so we can drive back to where we belong. We’ll get our cats back from my friend, load our van with a week’s worth of clothing and a few toys for the children and we’ll be off. I can almost taste the freedom.

I’ve been waiting for months for my name to reach the top of the list on the Independence Housing Authority list in Independence, MO and was told a about a month ago that they’re still working on applications from last June. Since I applied in August it’ll be a few months until my name gets to the top. I can’t wait that long. So I’ve moved to Plan B. Friends of ours back in MO offered me, months ago, to stay with them until my name comes up on the list and I finally took them up on their offer. I just couldn’t bear the thought of staying in this shelter any longer.

Besides, come June 1 we’d have been here a year and DSS would be looking to move us on which means placing us in another shelter probably 40 miles or so farther out on the Island so we’d be virtually isolated from everyone and everything we know. I was not going to let that happen. So I called my friends, asked if the offer to stay with them was still open and they happily accepted and have been working with me for the past few weeks to get the paperwork in order to get us moved back. I can’t wait!!

While I’d much rather be moving into my own place and not invading the lives of others yet again I will gladly take the chance to get out of the shelter and to get my kids and myself the regular life we deserve. Living in one room together for almost a year is not exactly ideal for anyone and it’s taken its toll on all of us. It’s time for a change in a positive direction and I’m jumping at the chance. The kids are so excited that they ask me almost every day when we’re getting out and what day we’re moving. I think I’ve explained it ten times already but they still keep asking. That’s okay because soon enough they’ll realize that we’ll be living a different life in a matter of days.

Once I’m out and semi-settled I’ll actually start telling you everything I’ve wanted to tell you for months but couldn’t. I’m still sitting in the boat so I’m not about to rock it at this point. When I’m out and free of the restrictions and out from under the watchful eye of the NY government I’ll give you the full rundown of life in a NY homeless shelter and the system that goes along with it. Please be patient with me for just a bit longer and I promise I’ll tell you a story that will amaze you. Well, maybe not amaze, but you’ll definitely be shaking your head. I did and still am.

I’ll have to break everything down over a period of time because there’s definitely  too much for just one post but it’ll all come out eventually, one way or another. For now, though, I’m signing off. I just wanted to check in with you and to let you know that I’m still here, that things have changed for the better, and that I couldn’t be happier or more excited. I'll keep you posted as time passes to let you know where we are and what’s happening. You can be sure of that.

Until next time…peace to all.