Up on my rooftop

You won't find Santa Claus on my roof (yet) but you will find curling shingles, improperly installed boots and other things I didn't have a clue about until I became a homeowner. In preparation for Santa, his heavily loaded sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer, with a collective total of 32 little hooves I am getting my roof reshingled. Expensive you say? *I laugh hysterically* What's another charge on my already overloaded credit cards, I say. *SIGH* How about a 2nd, part-time job serving up Frappachino's at the corner Star Bucks or mindlessly scanning bar codes at Wal-Mart? Or credit counseling...or my renters could pay their rent...or my X could help out with kid costs without acting like his daughter is taking advantage of him. Imagine that...his daughter is taking advantage of him when she needs or wants something. Hello? Isn't that what being a parent involves? Isn't that what all kids do...ask for things, need things? Oh, wait, I forgot. He has his OTHER family to worry about. The @$$. I took E over to her dads house last night so she could get her dress shoes for a dance this weekend. I lived there??? The house and the neighborhood looks like trash. He did the roof himself a few years ago and since I'm foucused on roofs a lot lately I noticed that his shingles are lifting up in spots. Hmm...cheap materials? Poor labor? Both? But that's not my problem or my roof. It's nice to look back and compare where I used to be to where I am now. I can see all the positive changes that resulted from a bad time in my life. I can definately see that I own a house that's worth a lot more that my X's house. It just looked so drab, dingy and the entire area has a white trash atmosphere. I used to miss it...when I still lived in the trailer. Point of view is everything.