Okay, reader's digest on my life over the past few years:
1. Perfect life until about 2009, when a combination of factors started taking the business down.
2. Everything came to a head in 2012. The biz died, the divorce became inevitable. Had to take a job in Dayton, where I work, now.
I am so very grateful for the job I have, now. I got it during a time when a good many folks were having difficulty finding work. It pays fine. Benefits are insane. I love the people I work with.
But I love my son so much more. So, I never did get a place down in Dayton. I just stay in a cheap hotel when I'm down there.
So many times, I've driven back and forth for football games and whatnot. I drive about 50,000 miles a year. That's just a lot of driving. Averages about a thousand miles a week. And I don't like it.
Anyway, long and short of it was that I could have made my life easier by moving to Dayton, and just touching base with my son now and then. But what sort of life would that have been? He's the most important thing in my life.
Anyway, there's every indication that starting in January, I may be starting a teaching job in Toledo. If I get it, I can give up this horrible life on the road. I can hardly wait.
For those of you who have followed me through my ups and downs (and pretty much only downs since 2009... the two exceptions are the job and the son), this is a pretty big up.
For the first time in 7 years, I feel like I finally will have my life back.
I'm not going to lie: it's been a shitty slog. I can't wait for it to end.
I also know that mine is just one of millions of stories of people who have struggled, some much worse than I have, since the economy cratered.
For the first time in a long, time, though, I have hope and plans and am looking forward to how my life will play itself out. It feels good after so many years of just praying for bare survival.
