Hello all. My sincerest apologies for being MIA this last week plus. I had every intention of continuing with my series, giving you fantastic readers a window into my writer life and where my stories come from. Alas, though, life has a funny way of getting mucked up in the middle of the things we want to do.

I’ve been MIA, but I do have a pretty good reason.

“So, instead of giving you a bit of background on myself or where the ideas for the stories come from, I’ll give you a taste of my current life happenings.

               I did something this last week that I never thought I could do, nor deep down may have ever wanted to do out of our most primal instinct — fear.

               I bought a house all by myself.

Yes, I know that’s something that millions of people do every year. For me though, it was a decision that I thought I’d never be in a place to make, let alone be able to do.

Part of me found the permanence of buying a house a little restricting.

If you’ve read my bio, then you’d know that I am ex-military. Through that experience, something was ingrained in my brain. For those of you who have served in the armed forces, you may know what I am talking about.

Nothing is permanent. You are always on the move. Whether it be moving units or duty stations, you’ve always got to be ready for the order to go at a moment’s notice.

That stuck with me into my civilian life. I’ve never called a single place home for over four years. This last place was my longest tenure living in one spot, and that was in an RV. So, if I wanted to move, I could just pick up the front post, hitch to a truck and move to wherever I wanted or needed to go.

That had been my life for as long as I’ve been out of the army (a very long time): always moving, or prepared to move.

After leaving the army, I moved to Florida, where I’ve been ever since. Just over twenty years ago; and in that span of time, I’ve lived in ten different locations, which breaks down into a move every two years. Crazy right? Especially for a civilian to move around as often as I have.

So, buying a house and “settling” down in one location was…well, still is kind of scary for me. However, there comes a time in everyone’s life when they have to face their fears.

A sizeable chunk of the decision to make this leap for sure had something to do with the sky-high rents in this state. Rents do nothing but go up, and that money is pretty much being flushed down the drain because it’s not going to anything of long-term value.

I am not sure why it scared me to lock myself into a location for thirty years (and yes; I know I can sell whenever I want, but that’s beside the point). I hate moving. It sucks. You’ve got to pack all your stuff, load it, drive it, unload it, and then unpack. That’s a lot of work. Especially for one person, and with a messed up back these days, it’s harder than it used to be.

That’s one reason I stayed light. I am not an accumulator or hoarder of stuff. I have a general rule. If I don’t use something at least every couple of months, it goes to the trash.

I also don’t use a lot of things. I live a simple life. I spend twelve hours a day, five days a week, dedicated to the job. Outside of that, I read, write, and play games, YouTube surfing, or watching a show, though few of the latter are enjoyable. I feel like I can write a better script than most of these shows are offering.

Why the fear then, you may ask. Well…that would be the million-dollar question. Maybe because I now own my living situation. If something breaks, no calling a landlord to fix it. I either DIY it or call a professional, which means doing something else I hate: spending money. I am not one for spending a ton of money if it’s not on food (and even that I go light on, lol).

Maybe because the house is all mine. I’d spent most of my adult life sans the last four years living with a roommate. Remember, rent is expensive, man, and for most of that time I didn’t have the greatest-paying jobs.

Having free roam of an entire house feels a bit much. After nearly four years in a tin can RV, all this space can feel overwhelming at times.

Though the deed is done; I made the leap to become a homeowner. I am happy about it. Happily, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been put in a position to do something that millions still cannot do. I am going to make the most of it and enjoy the new life I’ve built for myself these last few years.

The most enjoyable part of all of this, though, is that I now have an office to write out of, instead of either sitting in my bed or hunched over a small rolling computer table.

Maybe that’s why I made the leap and overcame the fear of buying a house and locking myself down to a location. I’d overcome one fear in life already, releasing my work to the masses, and it seemed to go okay. Why not knock off another?

With two down, there’s only one more to go — though that’ll require another party who can put up with me for a long stretch. We’ll see how cresting that hill goes in the future.

It’s been a nerve-racking few weeks and an exhausting few days, I am eager to see what awaits me in the new house.