Ruth n Jersey
Well-known Member
- Location
- Northern New Jersey
It is very hard to condense years of friendship in a paragraph or two and I'm leaving quite a bit out.. I've known my girlfriend since the first year of high school. We married a year apart, as couples we spent summer vacation together, and holidays. My girlfriend was the first one who knew I was pregnant,even before my hubby. At first we visited back and forth,as the years went by our visits to their home became less and less but they always visited us and we had a wonderful time. I never asked about it. I loved to entertain so it didn't matter.
They had a few financial setbacks due to illness on her husbands part but they seemed to be getting by. A couple of years ago they decided to move to a trailer park. It was quite sudden but I didn't question it. Again we were not invited to their new home but we saw them often. Other health issues began as well as her husbands drinking problems. A few weeks ago she was admitted to the hospital and then transported to a nursing home. She can hardly walk. A few weeks after that her husband had a car accident and soon he was also admitted to the same nursing home. She contacted me about the situation. I asked if there was anything I could do.
She said she had some valuables in the trailer and asked,out of desperation, I guess, if I would go and get them. She said the door was left unlocked. The hubby and I went. The ASPCA had been called to collect the cats. I guess the landlady let them in before we arrived but didn't lock the door. When we opened the door I realized, why after all these years, we had never been invited to their home. They both were hoarders. There was trash everywhere. We couldn't even see the side door or get in the bathroom. Beside that she seemed to be a compulsive buyer. Boxes of items not even opened but past due bill all over the floors. I was able to get the valuables she wanted and tried to salvage clothing and a few other items.
Most were destroyed by the cats. Most items smelled so bad we didn't want it in our car. I saw that the cats must have had have food and water. Bowls were left on the floors. but the litter box hadn't been cleaned in a very long time. Cats being such clean little creatures didn't want to use the dirty box and began using other areas for their bathroom. A few days after that we visited them and brought them their valuables and clothing. They appreciated what we did and couldn't thank us enough but no mention was made of just how bad the situation was. I think they are in denial. As of now they will be transported to another home because of financial reasons. I think anything could be better than the way they were living. I do hope they will be happy once settled.
They really are two of the nicest people you could ever meet. Some people say it was due to poor choices they made. I'm not so sure about that. I think it is an illness and maybe in their case, brought on by stress,physical illness and financial problems. I'm glad they are out of those living conditions but there is much to settle. They are paying on the trailer, and it needs to be gutted in order to even think about selling it. Their health is poor and I'm sure they must feel like they have lost everything including their independence. I've been feeling really down about this and the reality that anything can happen in a blink of an eye. As I said, I've left out quite a bit of what went on in their lives and maybe some of it I will never know. I will try and visit them from time to time but it is difficult because I don't drive much anymore and the hubby isn't one to sit all afternoon and reminisce about the good old days. That's all they seem to have left.
They had a few financial setbacks due to illness on her husbands part but they seemed to be getting by. A couple of years ago they decided to move to a trailer park. It was quite sudden but I didn't question it. Again we were not invited to their new home but we saw them often. Other health issues began as well as her husbands drinking problems. A few weeks ago she was admitted to the hospital and then transported to a nursing home. She can hardly walk. A few weeks after that her husband had a car accident and soon he was also admitted to the same nursing home. She contacted me about the situation. I asked if there was anything I could do.
She said she had some valuables in the trailer and asked,out of desperation, I guess, if I would go and get them. She said the door was left unlocked. The hubby and I went. The ASPCA had been called to collect the cats. I guess the landlady let them in before we arrived but didn't lock the door. When we opened the door I realized, why after all these years, we had never been invited to their home. They both were hoarders. There was trash everywhere. We couldn't even see the side door or get in the bathroom. Beside that she seemed to be a compulsive buyer. Boxes of items not even opened but past due bill all over the floors. I was able to get the valuables she wanted and tried to salvage clothing and a few other items.
Most were destroyed by the cats. Most items smelled so bad we didn't want it in our car. I saw that the cats must have had have food and water. Bowls were left on the floors. but the litter box hadn't been cleaned in a very long time. Cats being such clean little creatures didn't want to use the dirty box and began using other areas for their bathroom. A few days after that we visited them and brought them their valuables and clothing. They appreciated what we did and couldn't thank us enough but no mention was made of just how bad the situation was. I think they are in denial. As of now they will be transported to another home because of financial reasons. I think anything could be better than the way they were living. I do hope they will be happy once settled.
They really are two of the nicest people you could ever meet. Some people say it was due to poor choices they made. I'm not so sure about that. I think it is an illness and maybe in their case, brought on by stress,physical illness and financial problems. I'm glad they are out of those living conditions but there is much to settle. They are paying on the trailer, and it needs to be gutted in order to even think about selling it. Their health is poor and I'm sure they must feel like they have lost everything including their independence. I've been feeling really down about this and the reality that anything can happen in a blink of an eye. As I said, I've left out quite a bit of what went on in their lives and maybe some of it I will never know. I will try and visit them from time to time but it is difficult because I don't drive much anymore and the hubby isn't one to sit all afternoon and reminisce about the good old days. That's all they seem to have left.
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