Rough Times 2024: Starting Again PART 1

IT’S BEEN A DIFFICULT FEW MONTHS. Seems like I say this every year. But this year? I feel like it was different. We were homeless, and we ended up having to move out of our city. Uproot and relocate out of Northern California. We drove out of the town where we’d been living for almost 16 years, just like that. We didn’t want to, but circumstances dictated otherwise. We had no choice.

I PLAN TO WRITE ABOUT THIS YEAR. But it’s long, and it’ll take a while. I want to start blogging again. I will post that later. For now, I’ll start recording my daily thoughts each night so that I can kind of journal things from now on. It’s been a while since I’ve written, drawn, or even worked on my novels. Been too depressed too. But I want to start. Now is as good a time as any.

WE MOVED IN WITH MY WIFE’S FAMILY in Southern California. It’s been interesting. We are currently living in a small RV, located on the side yard of the house. Me, my wife, and our 3 kids. It’s a tight space, 3 beds, no water or bathroom, but we fit. We need to go into the house to use the bathroom. But it’s a place to stay and better than being homeless.

IT STARTED OKAY. We moved in here around the beginning of October. It’s now December 12th. The family was happy, receptive, and glad to have us. There was laughter, they cooked for us each night, and my kids hung out. It was pretty good. And a nice respite from the craziness of the past few months.

HOWEVER, THINGS HAVE CHANGED. My wife warned me about this beforehand, to prepare me for when we moved in. So my wife’s family is very demanding. Her dad rules over everyone, and they all have to listen to him even if they don’t want to.

The stepmom started talking trash behind our back and gossiping, but I guess she forgot that my wife could understand Spanish. There’s a mean aunt that we were warned about before coming here, who talks down to everyone, makes snide remarks, and is just bitter.

THEY DO GIVE US OUR SPACE. The dad yells at everyone else but leaves us alone. The stepmom gossips but ignores us. And I ignore the mean aunt and she pretty much stays out of our way. We stay in our lane, and they kind of just leave us alone. There’s a longer story about why he leaves us alone.

Let’s just say when my wife and I were in college, she had a fight with her dad. My wife left and moved in with me, and we haven’t been back here for 16 years. It was bad, and we never wanted to come back. Her dad and I hated each other. So being back? Is weird.

WE ARE GRATEFUL. Yes, there are issues. But I know my wife’s dad always wanted his daughter back. And he even said it was fine if I stayed, and opened his door to my family when we had nowhere else to go. He is trying to do better. We have a roof over our heads, food, and a place to stay, and we are safe. The family dynamic isn’t ideal, but it is a blessing. One of the reasons he leaves us alone is because he doesn’t want my wife to get upset and cut ties again, and leave.

We just stay to ourselves and keep moving forward.

I’m feeling really tired. It can be exhausting being here. My nephew used to be good friends with my youngest son, and they would play together constantly, almost like best friends. However, that changed a week ago. My nephew began slamming doors in my son’s face, calling him trash, and telling him not to talk to him. We believe the stepmom might have been saying things to my nephew, which is why he started to behave this way. Unfortunately, that’s the situation we’re dealing with here.

MY WIFE STARTED WORKING recently. She’s been looking for a job for months with no luck. So we are hoping, saving, and praying to find a place of our own, soon. We have a lot of projects, and God is blessing us with some amazing opportunities. Things that I want to document as we move forward.

THE END OF 2024 is here. And I plan to push my work, projects, and life forward. As my man Gary Vee says, document, don’t create. And I’mma document this journey. Thank you for coming along! I hope you’re doing well, take care, and God bless. You Rock!