The Invasion

***Written assignment done for the Terrace***

Word Count: 996
Setting: My Apartment---(My Space)
Plot: Keeping my sanity
Beginning: An emotional rollercoaster
Ending: The end of the ride!



Thoughts of packing a quick bag and just running away were as tantalizing as thinking of eating a super sundae, complete with three scoops of ice cream, sinfully rich gobs of chocolate and butterscotch topping, whipped cream and a few cherries on top for good measure!

I have always been what I consider a survivor, having inherited from my mother a strong sense of ability to get through anything that life throws at me.

Parenting my only child, now an adult, had been a huge challenge…he almost died when he was three with a seizure that hit, out of the blue, instantly changing his personality and resulting in lifelong problems.

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In August of 2006, my son, by then married and the father of a little girl I absolutely adore, was lured by his birth father who he hadn’t seen in ten years, to move his little family from Wisconsin to Texas… where “jobs are plentiful” and the “cost of living is cheap.”

Sooo, off they went, seeking the “promise land” with me sobbing my head off because my precious granddaughter, then 8-months old, with whom I was closely bonded, was leaving. The final hug was heart wrenching.

I was miserable, in part from missing the near daily contact with my son and his family, but also because his father had lured them 1500 miles away from me without being honest with them. Jobs were plentiful alright, but paid minimum wage and the cost of living was way higher than in Wisconsin. Also, crime was rampant and neither my son nor his wife ever felt safe.

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While I did make three visits of about 3-4 days over the next year, it was stressful. The first visit, four months after they had left, was incredibly hard because little Emma, then just one year of age, didn’t seem to remember me the first few hours. I cried myself to sleep that night, wishing I would never have to leave, yet knowing in a few days I’d be gone from her life once again for a period of several months.

When Emma was 14 months old, I got a shocking phone call from my son telling me Emma was going to be a big sister in another five months! The baby would be arriving in mid July. As I had been in attendance with Emma’s birth, I assured them I would surely be there in Texas for the arrival of her brother Gage as well.

True to my word, I was there for the birth and was glad I could be there to care for Emma the two days mother and infant were hospitalized. As was expected, the first days home were quite rough on everyone…strange how a little person weighing a mere seven pounds can totally disrupt the lives of others.

Leaving would have been devastating for me but Jason and his wife, Charlet, made plans to come back to Wisconsin for a two-week visit in August, a mere 3 weeks away.

I was absolutely thrilled when the plane landed that August, and off stepped my son and my daughter-in-law, each holding one of my precious grandchildren.

They could only stay for five days, but I can’t describe how wonderful it was to have them home, and they were staying with us so I was able to do plenty of “grandmothering.”

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Just two days into their visit, both my son and his wife decided they wanted to move back to Wisconsin as Texas just wasn’t working out for them. My husband and I both gave them a thumbs up and even though we live in a small, 2-bedroom apartment, we told them they could stay with us until they had secured jobs and could get their own place.

Jason and Char left just days later to use their return airline tickets to get back to Texas. I kept Emma and Gage with me in Wisconsin to make it easier for their parents to make the move. They had to rent a storage shed to put all their belongings in until they could hire a mover to bring them up to Wisconsin and then they drove their car back from Texas to Wisconsin.

Amazingly, they were back in Wisconsin in a mere three days and we spent the next week getting them settled in.

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This is when the “invasion” began to be realized. We didn’t have a second bed at the time, so Jason and Char slept on the futon in the living room each night, while the baby slept in a make-shift bassinette made of blankets and pillows to keep him from rolling out onto the floor.

Because her little Dora bed was in storage in Texas, my little Emma slept in the small spare bedroom (my office) in a Pack’nPlay…basically amounting to a play pen. I felt so bad for her to be out of her familiar surroundings, but took comfort in knowing she was well loved and happy to be with her family.

My husband, Bill, who works full-time, rises about 3:30 a.m. to leisurely get washed up, get dressed and eat breakfast. His morning routine became rather “cramped” with having the baby and his parents sleeping a mere few feet from the kitchen. Over time, he became stressed at having to try to be so quiet.

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Jason suffers from clinical depression and Char is bi-polar, so many stressful “incidents” made me feel like running away to escape.

Job opportunities arose but always fell through, which was discouraging. Char finally did find a job in her field, CNA, and Jason temporarily took any job just to bring money in so they could find their own place.

Thankfully, after eight lonnnng months they were able to secure an apartment and move into their own place. That was a year ago and Bill and I now count living alone as one of our greatest blessings. We still see and kids and the grandkids regularly, but now they go HOME!