something old and something new

November, Fall 2014, Trisha Johnson is 42, Clay is 41, Breda and Dallas are 11, and Deanna is 1. Last update.

Narrated by Trisha

 
"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. A lot about the kids, and how quickly they are growing up. It seems only yesterday that I found out that we were pregnant for the second time, and expecting Deanna. And now she's one, already up and walking around, trying to say more words that what she already knows.


And then we have the twins. It's truly hard to believe that they will be starting secondary school next year. Even with them, it seems as though they just started walking only a few days ago, and now, the teen years. Instead of fights over toys they will be fighting over the phone. And I'm not looking forward to the years when they start to date.

But the majority of my thoughts are focused on the spa. It really hasn't been doing what I wanted it to do, and I honestly no longer have the time to invest in it. Maybe if the children were older, but right now, I'm just stretched too thin."




"Then one morning over breakfast Clay announces that he wants to go back to school. Law school to be exact. He's always wanted to be a lawyer, but the partying won out. Now that we are getting older... and he hasn't been invited to any big bashes in over ten years, he's ready to further that education he left behind so many years ago.

The kids think it's great! I think it's a good idea as well. I just fear about our bank account. We aren't in the position to pay tuition for college. We have a stack of unpaid, past due bills to prove that point."




"But after sitting down and talking about it some more once the kids had left for school, I think Clay going back to school is doable. We both concluded that it's time to toss in the towel. Serenity Day Spa is a money pit for us, and it's time to cut the strings. I'm going to place the business up for sale."




"I explained to my sister that whole I'm waiting for Serenity to sell that I would have to cut her pay. She got pissed. But really, I don't see what the big deal is. Her husband is rolling in money. He's a trust fund baby, it's not as if they will end up hurting because I can't pay her.

In truth I thought that she was going to up and quit on me. But after a few minutes she calmed down and said that she understood. Money isn't such a big deal. Yeah, I could have told her that."




"We used the last bit of our saving to pay for Clay's tuition. There was a deadline for fall semester and he didn't want to wait until spring to get started on classes. I just hope this doesn't come back and bite us in the butt. Now we are truly broke."




"But he's still an awesome dad. He spends as much time with Deanna now as he did before he started school."




"And the kids have reported that his cooking seems to have improved as well."




"Maybe they are right. But then again, Deanna doesn't care how the food taste as long as she eats when she's ready."




"With all the stress of selling the spa and the lack of money, I know I shouldn't have taken a day to myself, but dang it, sometimes a woman needs it. Tosha, Anya, and I pop into this wonderful little tea shop on the main strip. I'm loving all the tea pots that are for sell. And I really want one, but they are so expensive, and with hardly no money in the bank I can not justify the splurge."





"I settle for some pastries instead and some five dollar tea. The girl behind the register moves so slow though. I don't think I was ever that slow when I started out."




"We ended our girls day out by getting a bite to eat at Cafe Mode. The food is so divine. I love eating here when I can. And it's not super expensive, so that I can splurge on."




"The sad thing though? Out of the three of us there is nothing to talk about except potty training and child raising. Tosha goes on and on about how she has to start all over with potty training with Donika."




"And Anya is just relieved that she's so past that point that it's not even funny. I know I have a toddler at home too, but I really don't want to talk about pottys and what's the best pull-up diaper brand to use."




"Finally, someone came in to inquire about the spa. I was so thrilled. I put my best spin on the place and why it's up for sale."




"To my surprise the woman actually bought it. Truthfully, I didn't even think that she had that kind of money. I'm no snob or anything, but looking at how she was dressed, I never would have guessed she had money."




"But in the end it all worked out, and we are finally caught up on all our past due bills. We even were able to pay the rest of Clay's schooling off as well. I have a feeling that we can only go up from here. Now it's time to start putting money away for the kids college funds."

***

I have no idea what was up with this dude. As you can see, Trisha wanted to sell him something, but no matter what she tired he refused to buy anything. Then he goes and tells her that she's rude and he was putting in a call to get her fired. ROFL Jokes on him, she owns the place.





And the Spa sold at a reduced price, but it was enough to get them out of the red, pay off their bills, and pay for Clay's schooling. I plan on adding an adult education section to my side bar soon. So that will be explained once I get all the knots worked out.