Deferred Maintenance

That might be another way to say procrastination ‘R us.

For me, 2013 is a year best forgotten. The personal tragic events of last year are still unpleasant and too fresh to allow them to be forgotten easily. Hopefully, time will allow healing.

These are all judgments and opinions, of course, but I noticed my first thoughts that pop up when things don’t go my way, are usually negative and include expenses I haven’t saved for. The pressure of not having enough starts me spinning out of control and into a panic. I don’t know about you, but that isn’t my finest moment usually.

My wife and I were homeowners for 35 years. After her terrible accident, we short-sold our house losing our nest egg and moved into an apartment. During the course of working through the details of the sale, our realtor said, “ the problem with this house is deferred maintenance.” She was referring to all the odds and ends you’d love to have done to upgrade from kitchen appliances and carpet; to all wood floors; to new bathrooms and landscaping.

We did quite a bit to maintain the house. It isn’t like we neglected it. We added a new roof, new fence, new furnace and new dishwasher. We spent too much, in my opinion refurbishing the deck and landscaping.

On a positive note, Kevin, Natalie and my granddaughter are moving to North Carolina as Kevin evolves from a Captain in the U.S. Army to a captain of industry in the financial business. Kevin will make the best of any situation, regardless of circumstances. We were lucky to have a month to have Kevin and his family close by. It's back to cross country trips for a while.

Michelle and her husband, Jason continue to do well and have a lively family life.