Foreclosure

Thursday, Sept. 2, was just like any other Friday at work, even though it was Thursday. It was preparation day for the long Labor Day Weekend. I had a couple of legals on email. Vicki (Atkinson, job share partner) had left the legals for me. I did all the normal stuff, printed out the instructions, saved the document, translated the document to be read by our MAC word processor, printed it out & prepared to take it out to the front desk for a number. I scanned down through the document to find out who was being foreclosed on & there, in UPPER CASE, our names jumped out at me: DON RAY BARTLOME AND RANAE MONSON BARTLOME, HUSBAND AND WIFE. I don't usually find the names so fast.

Here is what I put on Facebook as my status

I'm worried. It's kinda hard when you open a foreclosure notice on your email at work for the legal notices, you scan down through all the legal jargon to find out the name to put on the form & your own name jumps out at you! Kind of a kick in the gut. The lump is still there.

I put "kind of a kick in the gut." If you ask me, it was more like I'd been bitch-slapped. And the lump is still there, every time I think about it or see the paper work. I saw it at work before I ever saw it in the mail. Then we got EIGHT envelopes in the mail on Friday. I got 3, Don got 4 & Mother got one. Then, on our way out of the house Saturday morning to run errands, I stuck my hand in the mailbox & there were 2 certified mail slips to take to the post office & pick up some certified mail. The post office is open for 2 hours on Saturday, so I just took the slips to the post office & retrieved EIGHT more envelopes, 3 for me, 4 for Don & one for Mother. I opened them all on Sunday at the library.

Nick & I came home on Tuesday to find the offensive paper taped to the front door. A deputy sheriff brought it by. I thought they had to have a signature. Oh, well, they didn't wait for one. I now have it taped on the back of the door.

I did call the mortgage company & finally was able to talk to a real person. I've been getting more phone calls, but no messages. It is so hard to talk to someone, I had the thought this morning to write a letter & fax it, just like we did the 9 pages explaining why we were in arrears in the first place.

I still haven't told Mother, but know I need to before Tuesday, Sept. 14. That's when it will hit the newspaper. I wish I had some ideas.