Archives for May 2020

Well…

My parents are still quarantined and I think they’re handling it pretty well. As of this past Monday, everyone in my household has been tested (in some way) for COVID-19. I got my results back Thursday and it was negative. Yay me! I’ll have to get an antibody test at some point, but no time soon.

This is week 2 of my parent’s quarantine. Everyone’s a little stir crazy, but still trying to make the best of it. Also, an important thing to note is that everyone is healthy. My dad’s symptoms have pretty much subsided. His appetite is back, he’s not as fatigued, and he’s back to making his silly jokes. My mom never really had any symptoms, so I’m grateful for that. My sister has been the ultimate champ when it comes to caring for them.

For the sake of my parents’ sanity I’m glad their quarantine is almost over. It’s been entertaining watching them navigate not being able to leave the house. I took a couple days off while I waited for my results to come back so I had a little mini staycation, but now I am back to work and happy to be getting out of the house again.

Stay safe.

Xoxo,

Ash, RN

Today is a bittersweet day for me.

Today is the day I was supposed to sit at the settlement table and close on my house. I started this process back in December 2019 with a $250 down payment. I was excited and scared all at the same time. The plan was to continue putting money towards the down payment until today when I would come with the last $2200 of it. It was a new construction in a brand new development right across the street from an apartment complex that I lived in a couple years ago. I got to choose everything I wanted inside the house as far as counter colors, flooring, etc. but I had no say in the layout of the actual house. I paid $1000 every payday to ensure that my down payment would be a sufficient amount by settlement day.

I never stopped looking at houses. Even though my house was a decent house, it didn’t have everything that I wanted in it. I wanted a house with a garage; this house had no garage. I wanted a house with a split tub and shower in the master bath; this house had only a (very large) shower. I went back and forth wondering whether I was making the right decision. This is a house. This is an investment. This is somewhere I plan to live for at least three years. Do I really want to spend three years in a place that doesn’t have what I want just because I want to say that I have it? Especially considering how much my mortgage was going to be ($2300/month – twice my rent 😵)

I made that mistake when I bought my first car. It was there, and I didn’t want to leave without a vehicle. It was a cream (yes, cream) colored 2011 Kia Sorento. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. But I didn’t wanna leave the dealership without a car, so I bought it. It was nice for a while and then it became my biggest headache. One day last year I was getting ready to pick up my mom from the dealership where they’d just purchased my sister’s car. I went to start my Sorento and it wouldn’t start. This had been an ongoing problem that I couldn’t seem to get fixed. Every time I tried to take it to a shop they would tell me they wouldn’t know how to fix it unless it happened while the truck was with them. I couldn’t afford to leave my truck in a shop and wait for it to not start, so I went on about my business. On this particular morning when my car didn’t start, I put my purse and stuff in it and I cleaned everything else out. I knew we would be at the dealership for a few hours with my mom and there were other dealerships in the area – I was going to look for a car. We spent the entire time looking for a Chevy Equinox because that’s what I thought I wanted and I knew I could get everything I wanted in that SUV for a reasonable price. I left the dealership with a Mazda that had everything I wanted except one thing, and I was okay with that because that one thing could be added to my vehicle whenever I wanted.

I say all that to say – had I been patient the first time we went car shopping and done a bit more research I probably could’ve gotten a much better car. I could’ve saved myself a lot of money in car repairs and I probably wouldn’t have needed to buy another car so soon. But I settled. Settling with a car is one thing, but settling with a house is a completely different monster. You actually have to live there. Every day. All day.

I didn’t back out of purchasing my home. Had I done that, I would have lost all the money I put into it. It was actually an issue with my credit score that caused me to no longer qualify for the house. At first I was devastated, but then I was grateful because 1.) I didn’t really want the house. Nothing about it gave me peace. 2.) I don’t think I would have been able to afford it. I make decent money, but all my money would have been going towards the house and nothing else. 3.) I got all of my money back. Everything I had paid them was refunded to my bank account. I was able to take that money and pay my parents back for helping me to break my apartment lease, pay for my last 4 classes to finish my degree, and pay off three credit cards sooner than I planned. My credit score has since recovered and now that I’m not paying rent I can put way more money into my savings.

I restarted the process of buying a home, but with a realtor this time. I will definitely keep you guys posted.

Stay safe.

Xoxo,

Ash, RN

Life has been very interesting in the Gray house these days. I don’t even know where to begin.

I recently had some vacation time for my 28th birthday. I took off for two weeks, but scheduled myself to be off for about three. It was interesting to say the least. My whole first week was full of anxiety like I have never experienced. I couldn’t sleep, my stomach was upset, I had heart palpitations, dizziness – the whole thing. I ended up scheduling a doctors appointment and an appointment with my therapist. Needless to say, both were necessary and I did get better. The second week went much better once I got my mind and body right and I was actually able to enjoy the rest of my time off.

I started back at work last Monday and it was actually nice to go back. I was only home for a little less than three weeks and I thought I would lose my mind, so I can’t imagine how everyone else has been doing it all this time. My first week back at work was nothing short of amazing. I had great patients and it was Nurses’ Week. It was just the return I needed after having the week that I had before my vacation started.

Then this past Monday…my dad tested positive for COVID-19. Talk about stretching!! I could go into so much detail about how my faith and patience have been stretched these past couple months but I won’t. I will say that my dad is doing alright, and for that I’m grateful. My mom was tested today since she had been around my dad while he was having symptoms. My sister was antibody tested last week and it was determined that she already had the virus. As for me, I’m sure I had it at some point but I was never officially tested (and I’m asymptomatic).

So, this is my new normal (for now).

Stay safe everyone.

Xoxo,

Ash, RN