The Writing

556 Words – 5 min 20 seconds

The past seven days have been crazy for my family! Within seven days we had a Landlord randomly come up from a different country to check on our house with no explanation and hardly any warning. Last Sunday I had to miss church because we had to move some things around or even just tidy up little markings on the floor that we had missed. My dad‘s not well, so this did not go well for our family and caused some anxiety, which I hope is understandable. At this meeting, our landlord informed us that he was having some issues with his family, which I will not discuss here. We found out a couple days later that they management company that our house is through is being let go and we knew then that there was a high chance that we had to find a new place to live very shortly. Moving is always been very stressful for us. We were hoping that wouldn’t be the case When we found out his plans things were a bit set into motion. We began looking for houses to rent because buying a house now is ridiculous. We found a few that we liked, but we just weren’t sure if we should commit right now. Then on Friday, we found out that we were being evicted, again with no warning. Luckily that same day we had a walk-through in another house that we were hoping to rent, but still we’re not sure of totally. We knew that we had to act fast because we needed to have the two months to progressively move, luckily this place was available February 1. And because we like the place and like the Landlord, we went ahead and signed the lease. Within one week, we had a home with no worries about being kicked out to being evicted, to finding a new place and buying moving boxes so we could start preparing to move our stuff in gradually to lessen the stress. All the while I have a masters degree, that is going on, I am finishing up, marking my classes, I am writing report cards, I am preparing for a new semester, my sister has a huge moral mural that is getting picked up in a couple weeks Bracket sorry that meant to be a couple months… Actually a couple days is what I mean. This whole situation has been extremely stressful on our family and not knowing what the future holds. On top of everything my mom and I are also leading the Catholic women’s league and have our first big meeting that I’m supposed to run the day we get the keys to the new house. Luckily, we think this is the best decision for our family at this time. I am lucky to be living with parents that are very supportive and a sister that is lovely and I do not have to worry about little children at this time. I’m also going to be teaching four classes that I’ve taught many times before so the prep is going to be minimal. Overall, this is terrible that this has happened, but with getting evicted and signing a new lease happening on the exact same day it kind of seems providential. Please wish us luck as we continue on this journey!

What would I have done differently?

Whenever I use voice-to-text, or when students use it, there are often multiple edits that need to be made. For example, when I was recording, I wasn’t sure about the parameters of the recording, so I decided not to stop and edit along the way. Through Apple’s voice-to-text, the word “bracket” doesn’t actually create a bracket, and in some sentences, I misspoke. These mistakes make the story less coherent. Perhaps it was the stress of recording. Something that should be noted is that Apple voice-to-text will edit things as necessary which means this, perhaps, is not entirely what I said. For an example, any likes or uhs are not included in the text. This could have been because I didn’t say them (I was trained in radio to reduce them as much as possible) or it was automatically edited out. It would be interesting to see the comparison.

Another challenge is that, in spoken language, I can easily say “sorry” and correct myself without it being permanently on record. In this context, though, I find it difficult to watch my ADHD come through in how some details are shared out of order. For instance, I mention later in the paragraph that I live with my parents—this would have been more helpful to include at the beginning. Normally, I would rewrite and reorganize this if I were editing or writing it from scratch.

Chat GPT Edited Version

Here’s an edited version of your writing for clarity, grammar, and Canadian spelling:

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The past seven days have been chaotic for my family! Within a week, our landlord unexpectedly showed up from another country to check on our house without explanation and with hardly any warning. Last Sunday, I had to miss church because we needed to move some things around and tidy up small markings on the floor that we had overlooked. My dad isn’t well, so this visit was very stressful for our family and understandably caused a lot of anxiety. During the visit, the landlord mentioned he was dealing with personal issues, which I won’t elaborate on here.

A few days later, we learned that the management company handling our house was being let go. At that point, we realized there was a high chance we would need to find a new place to live in the near future. Moving has always been very stressful for us, and we were hoping this wouldn’t be the case. However, once we heard about his plans, things started moving quickly. We began searching for rental houses because buying a house right now is out of the question. We found a few places we liked, but we weren’t sure if we should commit.

Then, on Friday, we found out we were being evicted—again, with no prior warning. Fortunately, that same day, we had a walkthrough scheduled at a house we were considering renting. Although we weren’t entirely certain about it, we knew we had to act fast to ensure we’d have two months to move gradually, which would reduce our stress. Luckily, this house was available starting February 1. Since we liked both the place and the landlord, we decided to go ahead and sign the lease.

In just one week, we went from not worrying about housing to being evicted and scrambling to secure a new place. Thankfully, we found a house, signed the lease, and started buying moving boxes so we could begin the process of moving our things gradually.

Meanwhile, I’ve been juggling many responsibilities. I’m finishing up my master’s degree, marking assignments for my classes, writing report cards, and preparing for the new semester. My sister also has a massive mural project that’s being picked up soon—sorry, I meant to say a couple of days, not weeks! This entire situation has been incredibly stressful for our family, and not knowing what the future holds has been difficult.

On top of everything, my mom and I are leading the Catholic Women’s League and have our first big meeting scheduled for the same day we get the keys to the new house. Despite the chaos, we feel this is the best decision for our family right now. I’m grateful to live with supportive parents and a wonderful sister, and I don’t have to worry about caring for small children during this transition. I’m also teaching four classes I’ve taught many times before, so lesson prep will be minimal.

Overall, while this situation has been far from ideal, it feels almost providential that we were evicted and signed a new lease on the same day. Please wish us luck as we continue on this journey!