Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Has Mike Tyson ever punched you in the gut?

This is the part where it gets really hard for me, and I'll tell you why. I have this problem, wait...disease, that makes me really good at sharing joy but very terrible at sharing sorrow. Even when you think I'm telling you something bad, it's really only so that you can feel good, or laugh, or I can end it with a punchline, and then you feel good, or laugh. But when it comes down to the real stuff, the other side of the happy-happy-joy-joy, well, that's when things get sticky. 'Cause it's hard for me to imagine a frown on your face or worry in your heart because of what I just said. What I'm trying to say is this: I hate bein' a downer. But in order for you to really appreciate this miraculous (and by "miraculous" I mean MIRACULOUS!!!!!!) journey, I'm gonna have to go there, so brace yourself.

Imagine driving for 5 days, 36 hours on the road, with 4 kids, two of whom are still in diapers, and two of whom are choking back tears at every turn, everyone looking forward to what they pray will be the most amazing, fun, adventurous summer of their lives and then, when you put the car in park, being punched in the gut. Really hard. By Mike Tyson. Yeah, that's how it felt when we got here, only it was worse. Like if Mike Tyson punched you in the gut when you had food poisoning while making you listen to someone rub two huge pieces of styrofoam together.

It was the middle of July when we crossed into Michigan, not too hot, but very humid (something we were sorely unaccustomed to coming from the inland region of southern California). All of us were coated in that long-road-trip grease and had that I've-eaten-too-much-trail-mix-and-Doritos feeling in our stomachs. And at least three of us had to pee. Reasonable people would have gone straight to the hotel (which we had booked for ONE night) , but reasonable people would not have bought a house off the internet in a place they'd never been, so let's not make any assumptions, shall we? No, we went straight to our house. The one we'd never seen. That was a "fixer".











And someone had broken in and stolen all the wiring and the plumbing and the guts of the air conditioner to sell for scrap, so we had no electricity and no water and it was hot. You know how they say difficult things bring you closer to God? That's the day I got God's cell phone number.

And I cried.

28 comments :

  1. This makes me love you even more.

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  2. oh dwija. that makes my heart swell for you.

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  3. Oh my goodness. I felt like I was walking through that house for the first time with you, I can't imagine what you must have felt. It's a gift to be a naturally positive person, not everyone could do what you are doing!

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  4. I love you, Dwija.

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  5. Dang, you are my hero. And you know, when you show us the hard parts of this journey, it makes us rejoice that much more in your accomplishment and joy!

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  6. All I can say is wow! What a post! You must have just about died when you saw the place. Nice blog I'll be following it from now on.

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  7. Thank you, Ross. I'll be following your journey as well! Hope you'll be able to enjoy future posts as much as this one :)

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  8. Tommy sure picked a wonderful wife. A Proverbs 31 wife. I'm so glad you have this blog! You are very inspirational to me.

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  9. Oh Mitzi, you really touched my heart saying that! The Proverbs 31 wife is my idol and I would say I'm blessed to know many of them, you included!

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  10. Red carpet, how could you not fall in love with the place regardless? *teasing*
    One would think that the previous owners would have done something to assure that you had wiring and pipes!

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  11. The paneling and red carpet and drapes seem like they were from the 70s, that house sure got a second chance at life with you, and now all of you can make it a home.

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  12. Wow. I'm amazed. Simply amazed. This is fascinating!

    I stumbled you (and I'm a new follower)...would love if you could stumble back:
    http://www.keenlykristin.com/2011/04/power-of-words.html

    Thanks!
    Kristin :)

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  13. How horrible, I hope you're able to get it fixed up. I stumbled you. My post is http://booksyourkidswilllove.blogspot.com/2011/04/from-book-to-book.html

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  14. stumbled, mine is http://www.darcyandbrian.com/?p=1783

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  15. Hope there is a rest of the story...


    http://stillblondeafterallthes... Stumbled you, please stumble me back. Thanks for participating in Stumble tumble Tuesday! Join us again next week!

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  16. Are you going to make the gigantic satellite dish into a pool? Hope everyone had their tetanus shots!

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  17. Oh wow :( Wish I could have given you a big, virtual hug that day! And a chin-up! And boat loads of money for an extended hotel stay.

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  18. Oh my! the red carpet is the kicker!

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  19. Tell me you left the coating of scum on the sliders? You did, right? Goodness, you're brave, brave people. I have a whole new level of respect for you now Dweeja! (Can you tell that I'm starting at the beginning of your blog? Why haven't I done this before?)

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  20. Dweej - What a story! Thanks for submitting it to my #LSLMovingStinks contest! Looking forward to reading more about how you survived that punch in the gut!

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  21. You are brave, brave souls. And BTW, to pick up on the most unimportant detail of this post--my husband can't stand styrofoam. He literally runs away from it.

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  22. Holy crap, dude!! You've come a long way!! And that may be the biggest satellite dish I've ever seen.

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  23. We are in the process of buying a fixer-upper. Not as extreme as yours for sure, and it is only down the street from us. I'm still nervous, though, and inspired by you!

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    Replies
    1. Anytime you need a virtual shoulder to cry on when it just seems like it will never end, you know where to come, Kat!

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  24. I was thinking "I've lived in worse" as a uni student, but we always had plumbing, so you win! That must has been an awful shock. We are currently rewiring and plumbing our own house, so I know its a lot of work.

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