I’ve been away from writing far too long. But at 5:19 a.m. some things remain the same. Toddy is snoring beside me, I’m surrounded by 4 cats now, and in a weird deja vu we saw the PG13 of Deadpool 2 tonight thinking it was a different movie. It’s not.

Toddy’s 46th birthday is tomorrow, and he was just laid off from work Friday. It’s going to be odd for me, having him work with me for the last seven years, yet I can’t seem to get out of that place. I tried resigning June 2017, only to have the boss cry and guilt trip me into staying. Fast forward to January 2018, he’s asking me if he thinks I’m worth my salary. I reminded him he thought so last year. So now, with him laying off Toddy & George, we’re down to 3 employees and himself. The writing is on the wall, thankfully my resume has been written and updated, and I feel better about Toddy as I wrote his resume yesterday. Now over the next 2 weeks, I have to make sure he gets his drivers license (finally) and a new job. The boss said his layoff was temporary, as he “loves Toddy” but we aren’t building anymore, and financially we’re a wreck.

So we’re heading into a new year with a questionable future. If it were just me and two cats, I’d sell and start packing for move #28. But I love my home, I’ve still have a few projects to keep my occupied, and I’m close to all  my friends. Four cats preclude us from renting and the weather in Texas, stops me from sending my resume down south. The longer I stay here, the harder it is to leave, and lord knows I’m not getting any younger and my health needs improvement.

So Diary, I need to get my shit in gear, get the bathroom installed in the basement, so that becomes a rental suite as well, and worst case scenario, take on more sign routes to supplement income. I wouldn’t have to worry about finding another 6 figure job, and I’m positive that Toddy will get a much better paying job in the new year.

So instead of ending on a bad note for 2018, I remind myself that everything is for a reason, my goal is to figure out what that is, and in lieu of winning the lottery, keep us all safe, healthy and home.