My husband jokes around with me that I'm the neighborhood spy. I have a huge window in my office and a large bay window that is right next to the sofa in our great room. I love to watch out the window and see the world below me; what neighbor talks to what neighbor, whose dog just ran away and the children romping around. But tonight I saw something that made me extremely sad.
I saw a tow truck drive down our street. It got to the end of our street, turned around at the end and slowly crept back down the street with it's head lights off. I said to my husband, "I think one of our neighbors is about to get repo'd." I in no way found enjoyment in this thought, but at the same time I couldn't stop watching. I watched this man get out of the passenger side of the truck, walk down to a neighbor's house (who I'm close to) and get into their vehicle. (Did you know that repo men can make keys to drive your car away??!! How creepy is that?) The vehicle was backed up with no headlights on and the man sped away with the tow truck speeding down the street behind him.
I turned to my husband, shocked and told him what happened. I couldn't believe it! I thought this family was so well off! They were one of the last families to purchase their house at a decent price before the housing market fell off the cliff. My husband was just as confused...how could that happen to "them"?
We have had our fair share of money problems in this house, especially when I decided to leave my job to become a stay at home mom. That was half the reason I decided to become a Virtual Assistant over the summer...to bring in more money. My husband is extremely embarrassed when we have to say "no" to an invitation because we don't have extra cash to spare. It's hard on me to; especially since I have a serious shoe and handbag addiction!
What a sad sight to see tonight...I'm still struggling with the sadness. I said to my husband, "What do we do? It's not even 10:00 pm and this family is already in bed. They have no idea what just happened. Should be we call them?" My husband looked at me and said, "Do you think they really want us to know their personal business? We should just pretend we never saw it happen."
How sad...that we have to live in a world that we have to put on a show or pretend that we aren't having money problems when we are. As horrible as it felt, I listened to my husband. When things were at their worst in our home when it came to money, I was unable to tell anyone. I was embarrassed and I still am. But I wish that I could tell my friends and family.
My hope is that we are able to bring down our walls of fear of embarrassment and open up to those around us. Too many people are losing their cars, homes and personal belongings because we are afraid to ask for help. If you are in this position, please talk to friends and families, you never know who may be able to help you!
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2 comments:
Such a thoughtful blog. These are challenging times we are in. I appreciate you being transparent.
I think we are all in the same boat. I became a single woman in the last year and know what it's like to budget, like never before. But you know what. It's okay. It's not killing me. I have what I need, just not always what I want.
Thank you again for being "Real" and sharing part of yourself here.
Thanks for sharing Rebecca. Yes, many of us are in the same boat as times are very hard these days, unfortunately.
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