A Secret

Hi buddies,
I am sad today. I usually wake mom up in the morning, we play and go for a little walk. She didn't today. I know she is not doing well, it has been a while already. Dad is not doing very well, either. I heard something about them not getting to sleep well at night and being stressed out. Something about mom having headaches everyday and her eyes hurting a lot. She is not used to headaches neither to take pills.



This is a time when mom and dad have to make lots of decisions. They made mistakes in the past and are now trying to finally decide as a couple to move forward in their marriage. They have been married for more than four years and now is when they are willing to really start a new life together. It is not that they didn't want to before.

Dad made an arrangement with his mother previous to his marriage. They remodeled an old house she owned, moved in together and dad paid the mortgage. He had shared custody for his two daughters and his mother helped a lot at that time. Mom tried to live with that woman before and after her marriage and did not succeed. Dad's mother was the housewife, mom was the guest. Mom was taught to be respectful with older people and would say nothing to her. She would complain to dad but he hates conflict. Mom hates conflicts, too. She was very unhappy.

For their first year of marriage and the last 2 mom has been living in an apartment by herself while dad was trying to find a solution. Mom was tired of waiting. She was tired of being depressed and hopeless.

Right after Christmas - and after mom asked dad to leave for good - dad talked again to his mother and his only sister. They finally accepted to live together and let my dad have a life with his wife. It was fair, dad has been sustaining his mother for the past 20 years! They have to sell the house to share the money, that will take a while. In the meantime the mother moved to North Carolina with dad's sister and dad will rent the house. Mom and dad need to find a place to move in together as soon as possible, because his stuff doesn't fit in the apartment mom is renting now.


Mom owns a townhouse that has been rented for the past two years. She always wished they could move there someday. They can't now. Mom and dad are making less money than 2 years ago: no overtime for dad and no work to take home for mom. Ha has to pay child support now, because his kids are staying longer with their mother - they needed stability in their life. Mom never expected all of that to happen. Her interest rates will be variable in a few months. The association fees have increased, property taxes are pretty high.

Mom managed to pay the mortgage for two years with the rent, some money grandma sent and her salary, leaving almost no money for mom after paying all her expenses. The property is now valued 40% the purchase price. Refinance is not an option. Mortgage modification? Payments will still be high and it will only help for a year or two. Mom and dad are thinking of starting a new family. What will happen when payments go up again? Mom would like to find a solution to keep the property but dad doesn't. He wants to start from scratch. If they move into the townhouse, mortgage payments, fees and taxes will take most of their money. The tenant is leaving in less than a month.

Mom needs stability in her life, too. Dad thinks it is best to rent an apartment until his property sells and use that money as down payment for a house they can really afford now. They don't want to make another big mistake.

This morning I tryed to help her ease the stress lying on top of her head. After a while I snuggled with her until she felt better and woke up. She was happy because we snuggled together!