Blood Money

No, nobody murdered my next of kin and paid me the underworld's restitution. But the $3,800.00 check I deposited today might as well have bought a life, or at least four years' worth of one. It was payment for the four miserable years I spent in an awful relationship at the beginning of this decade, which is speeding to a close. I sold the last of the specialized equipment that constituted a major portion of my credit card debt, and with some of those dollars, I'll pay off the last of it. Tonight I pay off $30,000 in four years, and for the first couple of years I did it on a minuscule administrative salary.

Between almost $20,000 in student loans, constant repairs to his cars (one of which I'm 99% sure was stolen), and those tools for his "business," I dug myself a hole I thought I'd never get out of. Luckily, I live so cheaply that in the last year I've been able to make $1,000 payments most months. I'm not a martyr; every penny was my fault. But admitting that just gives me more cause to celebrate. And tonight, with a click of my mouse, I'm buying a new life.