Curious Facts and Life Experiences About Me - Part Deux

When we last left Mandee, she was trying to build an online career in hopes of helping the family recover from the financial blows of the recession. But first, a little history...

I mentioned in the other lens that our family business had become a fatal statistic of the recession. I didn't go into detail but I am going to include a bit more info this time in order to set the stage for where I am today.

We owned a golf club in the Mid-West. Now, when someone tells you the first three important factors of owning a brick and mortar business are "Location, Location, Location" listen to them. They know of what they speak.

Our course was in a charming rural community. Very hometown with a town square and courthouse defining the downtown area. The old time storefronts were vintage, classic and made one think of a by-gone era in America. I loved it. Unfortunately, the town itself was about 30 miles from any sort of larger city, a lot of the population is made up of farmers and factory workers -- both solid and needed jobs but not real conducive to the game of golf.

However, the course had been there since the 1920's and had a decent number of members and outside players. So, in 1998, Tim and I decided to plunge, head first, into owning and operating our own golf course. Tim was in charge of the course and the Pro Shop and I continued my career in the event industry by now being an owner of a venue. We also had a bar and restaurant housed inside the clubhouse. So, that was my domain while the course was Tim's.

Tim and I settled into being golf course owners and running our facility. For 8 years, the economy was good, the business was doing well and our kids were growing up. We watched our son graduate high school in 2005 and start in college that fall. Our daughter was growing so fast and excelling in sports and academics. Life was good.

Then, on Thursday, January 5, 2006, our phone rang in the middle of the night. It's the kind of thing parents dread. When I first woke to the ringing, I did a mental check, remembering that both kids were at home and safe. Then my thoughts turned to my parents and Tim's mom. I hoped they were all okay and the phone call was not about any of them.

I answered the phone and the County Sheriff's dispatcher told me we need to get to the club - the clubhouse was on fire. We lived only 1/2 a mile from the club as the crow flies. I relayed the message to Tim, and we both grabbed shoes and a coat and headed to the front door -- not saying anything.

Tim flung open our front door at 3:50AM that morning and we were greeted with an orange sky. Above the houses and the tree tops we could see the eerie glow lighting up the darkness of that cold January morning. We looked at each other and continued on to the car. A few moments later, we turned down the lane leading to the club but were blocked by police cars not allowing any traffic. The clubhouse sat a couple of feet off the driveway, so it was for safety reasons, they sent us to the back entrance.

When we finally arrived, we got out of the car and ran to the driving range. It was directly across from the clubhouse and our best vantage point. The parking lot was full of firetrucks and police cars from neighboring towns and counties as well as our own.

It was all just surreal. I remember standing there, knowing it was below freezing out but not feeling the cold. My face was hot from the heat of the flames and my mind was void of anything but watching the beast devour its' victim. Tim and I stood there, holding hands and helplessly watching the 8,000 square foot, two level building die... along with our dreams.

There is always a plan. You may not know what it is, but there is a plan.

After the fire, Tim and I decided to rebuild with the insurance money. We liked our life in this small Mid-western town and wanted to stay. The process took 14 months (almost to the day). We re-opened the new clubhouse on March 6, 2007. It was a wonderful building, two levels with 16,000 square feet in all. We had a 2 banquet rooms, a pub, a deck overlooking the first hole on the course, a Pro Shop, locker rooms and a wonderful commercial kitchen. We were in heaven!

By December of 2007, we weren't doing so hot. People had stopped playing golf as often and were eating at home -- the recession had started in our little town. We had a factory close and others were laying-off. The community simply didn't have any money. A few small businesses around town started closing and our numbers were dropping. We advertised and tried to pull from larger populated areas but they were getting hit too. It didn't look good.

We continued on, business as usual, until May of 2009. We were at rock bottom without a ladder in sight. September of 2009, we lost the business to the bank, 11 1/2 years after we bought it. But the nightmare was just beginning. Where will we go, what will we do. We had a lot of decisions to make.

I wrote a lot during those months and still continue to write today. We decided to move South to find work. We sold our house for enough to pay off the mortgage and a few extra bucks, sold all our belongings except clothes, family pictures and a few necessities and moved to Florida.
Starting over at its' best...

Tim and our daughter left for Florida in October to get her enrolled in school and so he could begin job hunting. My son and I stayed and handled selling the house and holding the 3 garage sales. My mom was going to travel with us to Florida and take turns riding with Brendan and I on the 18 hour trip.

The day before we were supposed to leave, we had another problem. I wrote a short story (too long to post here) about the experience. See the link below to read it.

It took Tim 6 months to find work and we exhausted our savings in the process. But, he is working now. I started working right before Thanksgiving. I found Squidoo while searching for a way to make a living at home. Our daughter is a senior this year and very active in school. I didn't want to miss any of her events but a steady income was needed.

I am still working on my online career just not as full time as I have been. I will continue writing -- I can't seem to stop -- and working on my website and Squidoo and building a career that I can one day make a living from.

I am enjoying the Florida weather, palm trees and visiting the ocean. When I stand on the beach, it reminds me of living on Guam as a teenager. The ocean with it's changing currents and tides, abundance of life and mysterious deep waters is symbolic of the changes in my life these last three years. It gives me hope and helps to remind me -- "this too shall pass".

I have my kids and my husband, we are healthy and together. That's what really counts. The rest is packaging.

Yup, we moved again. Tim was offered a transfer within his company back to where he was born and raised and where I graduated high school. My parents, his mom, my sisters and his siblings all live in the area so we took it!

Starting over again for the 2nd time in less than two years. This is it. I can feel it...

Well, we've officially been in Indiana for 6 months now -- half a year -- I can't believe it. Times are still tough but we're getting there. We live with my parents in a nice home they purchased this past fall. My daughter is working full time and taking online college classes so she won't be too far behind when we are able to get her to a school.

My son is still in Florida and doing great, though we miss him terribly.

My days consist of helping mom and dad in any way I can and working on the internet. I had my best month ever for online income. Still not enough to replace my lost time paycheck but better.

My mom, sisters and I opened a vintage booth locally and are trying our hand in that market. It is a lot of fun going to auctions, yard sales, through Craig's List and more on buying trips. I am really enjoying my time back in the family fold.

Taking care of the booth (Vintage With A Twist), writing on Squidoo, Wizzley, my 5 blogs & website as well as a few other writing platforms keeps me pretty busy. I concentrate on making one day better than the last.

2012 is gonna be good... I can feel it! :D