My oldest friend moved to California three (or is it now four?) years ago and has had nothing but bad luck. Fired from three jobs. Her oldest son was robbed at gunpoint and then, in a completely unrelated incident, had to spend the night in jail. Her daughter has had emotional problems and quit going to school, which brought the law to her front door yet again. She broke her elbow and has required multiple surgeries and much physical therapy.
Oh yeah, and before leaving for Los Angeles, she abandoned her suburban Chicagoland home, resulting in a major blow to her credit rating.
The much-adored cousin she moved 2000 miles to be near has been no support whatsoever. This has left her feeling worse than vulnerable. She's disillusioned and abandoned, too.
Until Now! I hate to jinx it, but I think I feel comfortable saying her life is finally turning around.
• A good job. Her fifth since she's been out there. (The Los Angeles economy has to be much, much better than Chicago's!) And so far, they seem very happy with her. Yea!
• $14,000. The place where she was employed when she fell and broke her elbow finally ponied up with a settlement that will pay off her medical bills and maybe leave enough for a down payment on a much-needed new car.
• A nice boyfriend. Regular readers will remember "Archie Bunker," the former sportscaster that my friend dated briefly and was so smitten with. He was angry and insensitive and an all-around ass. Through the website Christian Mingle she met a lovely man, not as "glamorous" as Archie, but very good to her.
• Her kids. They're still all drama/all the time. But her son (now 23) may be finally be preparing to leave her nest. The first step is paying to get his car fixed and drivable. Then he hopes -- sometime in 2014 -- to move out and share an apartment with a friend. He has anger issues and the sooner he's out of there, the better.
She is a funny, warm person and deserves to be happy. I hope 2014 continues to bring her victories, large and small.
This is great news! I hope your dear friend finally finds some happiness.
ReplyDeleteGlad your friend seems to be doing better, let's hope for a good year for her.
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