Homeless, unemployed, with a kid in juvi

Ok - so that‘s an overly dramatic way to phrase things, but as David and I drove away from the empty house, that was our reality.

My Evansville apartment has always felt more like an “Extend Stay America” than a home. And it was never intended to be a home for the 5 of us. Nathan and I basically slept and ate and showered there during the week and “came home” to West Lafayette nearly every weekend. But now that isn’t home either. We now have a temporary dwelling as we wait to hear what will happen with Bunny and decide the timeline for the next step in housing for our family. David worked his last shift in Lafayette this week and doesn’t start his new job until March. An odd time between jobs, intentionally keeping his schedule free as we list the house and go through the process of Bunny’s next set of hearings.

This isn’t what we saw for ourselves even just a few weeks ago. Christmas vacation was full of good memories with all 5 of us under the same roof in our house of 6+ years. Home was clearly defined. The plan for the transition to Evansville was clearly defined. I had New Years intentions of getting serious about exercise and professional goals for work.

Life is way more complicated and yet much more simple. Priorities for our time and attention are clearly defined. We wait for things beyond our control, while moving through the day-to-day. We mentally shy away from what could happen and try to focus on what we can do to support each other in the here and now.

So while typical life identity markers like addresses and jobs and plans for the future are no longer big ticket items for us - we hold to a more foundational truth - who Bunny is - how we love her - our family and friends who never waiver - our faith that Love wins every single time. And that same Love holds us - no matter where we are.