Moves

So I have moved a lot in my life... Here is a random attempt to chronicle the number:

Born 1978, St. Joseph, MO (Pickett St.) Mom and Dad loved this house, their first home purchased together.

1. Moved 1979, Milwaukee, WI: For Dad's job, great old house. Yellow wallpaper in my bedroom.

2. Moved 1980, St. Joseph, MO (Bittersweet St.) Rental house, not sure where dad worked at this time. Mom hated the full-length front window.

3. Moved 1982? LaPorte, IN: Another neat house, Emillie was born here. I started preschool.

4. Moved 1983? Woodstock, GA: Surprise move of sorts. New house, poorly built. When we moved after living here we sold most of what we owned so that we could make it back to the Midwest. Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle helped to drive us back.

5. Moved 1983? St. Joseph, MO (Grandma Wood's House): Not a good time, all 5 of us lived in one room (1000 sq ft house 7 people total.) Very bad...

6. Moved 1983, St Joeseph, MO (West Meadow Lane) Bad house, stressful time for family. Dad's diabetes continues to get in the way of work. Mom goes to work at the hospital.

7. Moved 1984, St Joseph, MO ( Mitchell Ave 3100 block?) Strange house, former owner had shot his wife accidentally (she survived.) Strange toile wallpaper allover the living room.

8. Moved, 1985, St Joseph, MO (Mitchell Ave 3400 block?) The house that I remember most from childhood. Badly remodeled Victorian. Dad passed away in 1986 from complications from diabetes and Sleep Apnea. Mom stopped working at the hospital so she could have more time with us, went to work for the St. Joseph Museum. Mom called this house the "Albatross."

9. Moved 1992, Leavenworth, KS (Herb's House) Mom and Herb married, we sold most of our stuff to consolidate households. 11 days later Herb beat up mom, we left. Had to come back the same night to get what we could. Herb yells at me to be careful because there is a "lot of stuff to move" Aaron had stayed in St. Joe, working and going to college.

10. Moved 1992, Leavenworth, KS (Alliance Against Family Violence) We started out at the Commander's Inn, to save money moved to the Alliance. Herb put anything we couldn't get that first night into a storage locker. We later moved all of those things into an acquaintance's house. The Alliance was a mixed bag... some scary folks: a woman I will never forget named Tami who wanted to kill us for eating her cake. The sweet Brenda who was so kind to us all. Zeda who had big dreams and a raging coke habit. Sheila the exotic dancer whose face looked like raw meat the night she moved in. The classmate from my High School who had to move in with her mom (talk about awkward...) The woman, CarolAnne given to pathological lying. All in all, a very strange place. I had to lie to tell my classmates where I lived as the shelter's location was secret. Most afternoons I would wander Delaware street hassling the Antique Store owners...

11. Moved 1993, Leavenworth KS (Columbia Street) Moved out of the shelter. House was too small but felt good! TERRIBLE move in! Bad storm, moving truck stuck on the hill in front of house where our stuff was stored. Electric blue woodwork and mirrored tiles. I slept in the front bedroom, Emillie in the back, mom in the dining room. Later, Aaron moved in with us, sleeping in the living room before he began coursework at St. Mary's College. I got sick, found out I had diabetes.

12. Moved 1993, Leavenworth, KS (Pawnee Street): Mom and Bill marry, move to his house. Bad house! Rent out Columbia House to mutual "friend." Terrible year... I was not dealing well with diabetes. Strange, strange, strange.

13. Moved 1994, Leavenworth, KS (Pin Oaks): Bill transferred to AZ, good move! Mom and Bill's marriage annulled! Strange neighbors, abusive boyfriend etc... Bulk of high school at this house. I was embarrassed but in hindsight was not so bad a place. Used to have carpool drop me off at the entrance of the wealthy suburb across the street so that folks didn't know where I really lived.

14. Moved 1996, Tonganoxie, KS (Stacy's House): After heated argument with Mom after I graduated High School, moved into a friend's house taking anything that I could from the house (HUGE REGRET.) Lived in unfinished basement. Sold most of what I had taken with me to pay for living and being stupid (I was 18) Worked at an A & W. Had no money and couldn't find a better job.

15. Moved 1996, Lawrence, KS (Jared's House): Failed attempt at college. Tried to live in an apartment, one of the greatest regrets of my life (treated roommate terribly.) I just could not motivate myself. Slept all day, walked around Lawrence all night. Used to sit in the Campanile to watch the sunrise. Diabetes was really in poor control.

16. Moved 1996, Leavenworth, KS (Pin Oaks): Moved back in with Mom and Emillie, lived in the basement. Worked at Sears, Country Cupboard and for a caterer... Really depressing, felt like a failure. Everyone else at college...

17. Moved 1996, Leavenworth, KS (John's House): Another bad attempt at adulthood. BAD idea, after short period of time John moved my things out to the garage. We were not a good fit as roommates...

18. Moved 1997, St. Joseph, MO (Jim's House): Move in with family friend who had just had triple bypass. Got a job working for a carpet store, chain-smoked... Most depressing point thus far. Moved into Jim's apartment, got him a job at the same place that I worked. Ended badly with him trying to be a "father figure" I did not deal well.

19. Moved 1997, Leavenworth, KS (Columbia): Life a real mess, move home with Mom and Em. Begin work on the Columbia house. Totally gut the house and begin rebuilding. Mom and Em slept in back bedroom. I slept on living room couch and later on floor. We had no walls for months. Hard time, I struggled a lot with debt. Went to work for a furniture store in KC, MO. Ended up working 80 hours a week for a really bad boss. Downward spiral into chain-smoking anorexia. Stress gets so bad that I begin to have spontaneous nosebleeds. Friend Nicole from work orders me to "leave and never come back" gives me a mix tape.

20. Moved 1998, Atchison, KS (Benedictine): less than a year later after somehow quitting smoking, and turning my brain around I was awarded the role of Tony in Benedictine's production of West Side Story. After, awarded scholarship... LIFE CHANGING! Became a student, found Christ and the Church. Almost became a priest! Found my friend Mary Carol who has been a constant support.

21. Moved 2001, Portland, OR (PSU): After a Christmas visit to Portland in 2000, I fell in love with Erin (my dream girl from High School. In less than 6 months I picked up and moved all the way across the country so that we could have a relationship. Accepted into the opera program at PSU, win Oregon Laurels Scholarship... Mom and I really begin to have a good relationship.

22. Moved 2002, Portland, OR (Powell) Erin and I get married! This was a cute apt. in a not so good neighborhood. Felt we needed to move after neighbors were threatening...

23. Moved 2002, Portland, OR (SW 66th) Big apartment, being remodeled. Great place! We found out we were going to have Abigail and decided to buy a house!

24. Moved 2004, Portland, OR (Wabash) The best house that we could afford. My brother and I remodeled ever surface in the house between Thanksgiving and New Years so that Erin could be in the house while pregnant. Hard financial times, Erin lost her job after maternity leave. I was only working part time for PSU... Emillie visits for the first and last time.

25. Moved 2006, Portland, OR (Mall): Sold Wabash house for a profit when we found out that Erin was pregnant again. Closing was a nightmare! Problems with the documents required 3 separate signings! Moved to Mall (on Easter Sunday with only Elizaebeth's help), ugly but large house. We remodeled every inch of the house. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! Would have stayed but the job market tanked! NO MONEY! We put the house on the market, it sold one day later... Oh and I got a great job at the same time, doh! At the same time, Emillie disappears. Mom gets Cancer. I lose my mind... (enter therapy)

26. Moved 2008, Portland, OR (Hurst) Rush job! Had to move, found great Victorian in North Portland. Had a terrible accident while moving, moving truck caused a great deal of damage to the Radio Shack on Lombard and to a late model Ford Taurus (uninsured driver...) At any rate, awesome garden! Unfortunately, Erin's job moved her to the other side of town creating a 1 hour commute. A year later, we knew that we had to move again.

27. Moved 2009, Portland, OR (Tacoma) The house of doom... Stupid! Only moved for Erin's job. House was half the size, in a terrible part of a great neighborhood. Landlord did NO maintenance (methane gas coming from the tub and sink drains... AWESOME! Oh, and 3 months after we moved in, Erin lost her job... The most depressing place that I have lived in here in Portland.

28. Moved 2010, Portland, OR (SW Hills): This will be the change. I want to stay here. We await the birth of the 3rd little Hoyt. Dear Lord, let us make this place our home.

Correct any inaccuracy! I am going to try to fill in some of these as actual stories with exposition...