Everybody, Always

We fixed up the house and swapped it for another house and then
another and then another. During the first ten years we were married, we
moved six times. It was like being in the witness protection program, but
we hadn’t done anything wrong. After many moves and remodels, we
were exhausted. One day after work, I drove home to the wrong house and
walked in the front door. It was more than a little weird for a couple of
minutes.
A short time later, I was at breakfast with a friend and overheard a
guy in the next booth say he was planning on selling his house. I
eavesdropped a little more on their conversation and learned his house
was at the top of a cliff, right above my favorite surfing spot in Point
Loma called Garbage Beach. Who wouldn’t want a house there, right?
I slid into the booth next to the guy and told him I wanted his house.
We worked out all the details over waffles. I made a really lame move
and threw in our china to seal the deal. Sweet Maria’s going to love it, I
thought as I drove home from the restaurant, having just traded the house
she had poured her heart into for years for a house at a place called
Garbage. I blindfolded Sweet Maria and drove her to our new home. I did
the big reveal when we got there. I pointed to my surf spot and then back
toward the house a couple of times. I asked if she could believe what a
smart guy I was.
She started quietly crying and told me in a very kind but direct voice
that every marriage gets one of these kinds of mistakes. I had just used
mine up. We moved in, and she did the same thing she does in the lives of
people around her. She took the garbage I brought and transformed it into
a life and a home for our young family. Our children had arrived two
years apart up until that point. There was a much larger gap before our
last child arrived.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be my last mistake. A short time later, we
bought another house, this time at a probate court auction. The auction
was held at the courthouse, and quite a few people came to bid on the
house. I’ve always had trouble sitting still, and while I was at the auction