Taking in another boarder…

Am I gullable or sincerely nice? Lately that has been very debateable but I was never the kind of guy to dictate my actions based on what other people think of me. That being said, I have taken in another person who needed shelter in a time of crisis. This person, who I am going to refer to as Kat on this diary is a friend of mine who used to date another friend of mine named Joel. I’m still friends with Joel and have been friends with Kat as well since their break. While Kat is a very nice looking person, we’ve never been anything more than friends, and based on where I am in my recovery from my own break, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

That being said, due to issues beyond her control, Kat had been living in a women’s shelter for the last few months. It was the first I had heard of that and I didn’t realize how bad this break up was until I realized she was living in a shelter for abused people and the police where still considering charges against Joel. I’m not one to judge, especially since no one has been formally accused of anything, but Kat came to me asking for help. She needed to move out of the shelter and find a place to stay before a certain date so she could start a college course she applied for several months ago. She’s got funding from the province secured, just needs a place to crash at until she can get a place with her sister, which I was told should happen in two or three weeks.

I’m all for people persuing continuing education, so to help her with school… I agreed to let her crash on my couch as long as she promised to attend every class and not slack on her grades. She agreed and has been my roomie for almost a week now. After letting Annie stay at my place for a few months earlier this year, a few of my friends voiced displeasure that I’m letting people crash at my place virtually for free again. While I understand where they are coming from, I can’t just claim to be a good friend, I feel the need to step up when I have the ability to help out someone. I want Kat to go to school and improve her chances of supporting herself, so this makes sense.

It’s been nice to have someone to talk to again, and while things are civil I doubt things will get bad to the point where Kat will have to get the boot like Annie did at the end of her stay. She has already pledged to help out with food and other things whenever she can and I believe her. She is grateful for the help and has worked hard to stay ahead of her studies up to this point… which is good.

Call me a sucker, a fool or whatever you like… but truth is if a friend needs me and I have the ability to help, I do it. As long as it doesn’t interfere with my life and the time I spend with my little ones, you’ll get my best efforts every time. I can’t ever guarentee it will be enough, but it will always be the best I can offer. I hope one day when I need help, someone will step up and do the same for me.

So for now things are all right. The weather is nice, the pool is open (much to the delight of the boys) and summer is here. This is no time to be picky and think of what’s just in it for yourself. That’s at least the way I live my life… so think what you want. I feel better for helping out a friend and in the end that’s what counts.

Peter