R E N T I N G is rough

Renting. After owning our own home, going back to a rental is rough. Beyond rough. The space, the freedom, the joy of ownership.

Giving up my Deluxe Whirlpool front-loading super capacity washer/dryer duet set for a small base loaner is just the tip of the iceburg. If I think too long about it, I get really, really sad. This week seems to have been another bump in the road for me as I've really struggled to keep my head up.

But, I'm in this incredible place with so many opportunities- I know I'm supposed to be happy. Some days, it just isn't that easy. Today is one of those days.

We discovered new mold. Not today or even yesterday. It's been there for a while now. We had a shrunk on the wall covering it and moving it exposed the rotten wall right outside our bedroom on the adjacent wall to our shower. Every day, more and more of the plaster falls off the wall to the floor. My friend was over and smelled the mildew just walking in to our bedroom. No doubt, it's making us sick.

I'm not sure why I have to work so hard to get up the courage to approach our landlord, but I do. I've faced and dealt with so many challenging scenerios and people in my life- why is this so difficult? I keep telling myself, he's just a German-speaking Russian Grandpa. Shouldn't be that difficult, should it? He asked me the other day if the rooster cock-a-doodle-doodling all day bothered me. He sings while he works in his yard and I listen as I hang my laundry out to dry. His chickens are his happy thing and he claps and talks to them all day, every day. Sounds easy enough. Not when it comes to his house.

Not getting any better... this has been there for a few months

Landlords here are a different breed. I truly don't think they know how good they have it with us as renters. Payment is direct deposited every month without question. A $4000 deposit- seriously. But, they think their houses should stay in perfect condition and do not take normal wear and tear in to consideration.

They set the demands, they get what they want. We are at their mercy for housing, so we comply.

I let him know a couple weeks ago that we have three doors that are still scraping on the laminate flooring due to warped boards, of course.

Previously, his solution was to add washers on the hinges to raise the doors up, so he knows darn well there's a problem. This time, he told me that Jim could take the doors off and saw 2mm off the bottoms- fixed. Nice. While Jim can fix anything and everything I don't really think we should be responsible for doing this. How to convey that back in German is another story. In the meantime, they continue to screech each time the doors are shut making me cringe and stress every time. Before too long, we're afraid they're going to find us responsible for replacing the flooring.

Every day this week and last, I've said I'm going to let him know we have a problem and show him this new spot of mold. Then, I back out thinking I have to have the house completely clean before he comes in. Am I crazy? He knows I have four kids, but I still think the women here clean ALL the time and keep up on everything. I feel like I have to do a complete overhaul every two weeks.

While walking, I saw a woman down our street the other day with a bucket and scrub brush washing the tiles on the outside of the house. Yes, the OUTSIDE. I couldn't help but wonder if it was the maid or the actual owner.

If I ever get to the point of my life that I have the inside of my house completely clean and I'm looking for more cleaning to do, I'm pretty sure I won't be hand scrubbing outdoor tiles. Oh, at least I hope not.

I should have things super clean by Friday, so I'll have to call the Grandpa in. We'll see if he has another band-aid or an actual fix. Jim's pretty sure the entire plumbing system is messed up. I'm pretty sure if it was, they'd never admit to it. Wish me luck. I might need to look up some German words in my dictionary tonight to help me out.

Enjoy the scenery... enjoy the scenery... enjoy the scenery... I have to remind myself.