The Roof, The Roof

The Roof is coming off!  LOL

The roofers were here at about 6:00 a.m.  It is going to be a LONG day.  They are shaking the house scraping the shingles off right now.  Been at it for an hour.  I know it will get bad when the hammering commences.

Since I struggle with sleep, 6 a.m. is about when I go back into a deep sleep, so I probably only reached 1 stage of REM last night, as I was up at 4:30 not able to sleep anymore.  Ah, well, sleep will come soon enough.

I am really glad it is getting done, one step closer to the sale of this house means one step closer to the new house.

So, a quick update on my son.  I talked him out of Kansas - just a bad idea all around.  However, we are going to help him a bit.

My main issue(for me) is that my second son, Aaron, has no place to live this summer either since we will be in an RV.  Aaron usually stays with Matthew anyway when he is here though, so we decided to help Matthew get a place on his own with these rules:

1.  We will pay 1/2 of the rent for 6 months only.  Of which, Matthew MUST save that portion.  This 6 month is a reality check with a safety net.  He has to live on his income to see if this situation is doable after the 6 months.

We chose 6 months because it gives Aaron a place to stay while he is on break from college that is close to his work and it gives Matthew 6 months to get himself together.

2.  The apartment mist stay clean at all times - mom kind of clean.

3. He cannot quit work for any reason during this time. (This is from a previous job situation, but he has been on this job for over a year).

It is in an apartment complex that caters to young singles. They have weekly social events and hopefully with this, Matthew learns to balance his money, or finds someone he can room with after the 6 months.  They have 2 bedrooms in this complex as well that are made for a roommate situation - unlike the one he was in before that was more for families.

The rent is $600 a month, so not killer.  It eases my mind during this heavy transition of us not having a place and building, selling, repairing etc.   If we were not, I would handle all this differently.   I do realize we are delaying facing this off 6 months.   My hope is that he realizes the brevity of it and makes changes accordingly.  We will see.

So, I have my bottle of ibuprofen, peppermint essential oil and coffee.  One day they said to get the roof done - I pray it is true!

Edit:  Quick insight to their Dad's family.  Aaron and Matthew have the same father.  Aaron is the golden child, Matthew is treated very poorly.  Even though Aaron is honored, he hates going over there.  It is extremely uncomfortable - lots of talking behind backs, lying, back stabbing, calling name, being judgemental, imposing opinions, yelling, guilt, etc, etc.   Yeah, they need to suck it up and maybe it will come to that in 6 months.  Where I have the biggest beef (right now), is Aaron is given $400 a month to live whereas Matthew has not been given a dime.   Now, we make Aaron pay for his living expenses at college, so this helps him tremendously.  Just Matthew could use a little help every now and then.  Even if it was a trip to the grocery store or a pair of jeans at Christmas.  

For example, Aaron got a memory book of himself infant through current, money, and a few articles of clothes for Christmas.  Matthew got a used Hardy Boys book.  That is it.  I am not saying they should give him more - it is like that WITH EVERYTHING!  Time, money, love, all of it.  Now, to Aaron's credit - all this comes with a price - strings are attached.

So, it is really no wonder Matthew is more than hesitant.  No excuses though, if it is his last resort - he will have to suck it up!