Living on the Edge of Eviction

This evening, during our Friday "luxury" date-night meal at McDonald's, I mentioned something about currently "living on the edge of eviction." Karen laughed and said it sounded like a good name for a country western song. And while the whole idea was pretty funny at the time, the reality of our life right now is not so funny.

What started this conversation was the question of: which of my mother's three children should be stewards of her life's work--poetry, prose, watercolors, pastels, and oil paintings?

Before my mother passed away (in 2004), I boxed up all of her stuff and placed it safely into storage. At the time, Karen and I were residentially and economically stable, so it made the most sense for us to save and protect it. My sister would have been the second choice, but at the time, I don't think she really understood the value and significance of our mother's work. My brother was residentially and economically unstable at the time, so he wasn't even an option.

Several years later, when Karen and I knew that we would be losing our house to foreclosure (completed in 2009), my sister took most of Mom's paperwork, which included a lot of the poetry and prose, and placed it in her garage. I carefully boxed up Mom's artwork, and stored it at the home of a trustworthy friend, in a climate controlled environment, where it still is today. I also, in various boxes all over our apartment, have electronic versions of everything, including photographs of the artwork.

As the beginning of each month draws near, my stress levels start to rise as I wonder if we will be able to make the rent. And while I can't say that I'm not concerned about the prospect of being homeless, the majority of my stress is directly related to my concern over whether I will be able to protect my mother's work if I'm living on the street or sleeping on someone else's sofa. Just thinking about it makes me cry.

And I haven't even begun to list all of the sentimental treasures we have of Karen's parents that we are also the protectors of...