OUR STORY

    We met in July of 1995, when we were both working at McDonald's.  We became friends quickly and remained such until March of 1996, when we decided to endeavor in a relationship.  Rhonda was married at the time to a very abusive man and Jim provided the comfort and security necessary to allow her to abandon such a mediocre living situation.  Jim welcomed Rhonda into his home and life.  And thus the fairy tale began......

    Although a little rocky at times, the nine years we have been together have been harmonious.  We compliment each others attributes very nicely.
 

YEAR ONE:
   Shortly after we got together, we were faced with a pending eviction.  Jim, although working 50+ hours a week, got three months behind on his rent.  You see he had a bad drug habit at the time.  On June 3rd, 1996, we moved to our new home and the real start of our life together.  Drug habits cast aside like an old blanket.  Unfortunately, this too ended in an eviction.  Though we tried, neither one of us could stay at a job for more than a couple of months and would usually encounter the problem of when one was working the other lost their job.  We had a good stint where both of us were employed and making ends meet.  That was March of 1997.

YEAR TWO:

    On June 3rd, 1997, (what was it with that date), we moved again.  Things started out alright, but then the inevitable happened, Jim's epilepsy started to act up and he was slowly becoming immune to his meds, he went through jobs like water.  Rhonda was almost entirely responsible for the bills.  We had to find assistance wherever we could and that eventually wore thin with our landlord.  You guessed it another eviction.  This one we were told about in March of 1998.

YEAR THREE:

   On April 18, 1998, we moved to Portland, Maine, to live with Rhonda's parents.  Jim had applied for disability, because of the seizures, but it had not been approved by the time we moved.  Shortly after moving up to Maine, it was approved and he started receiving it in June of 1998.  After a couple of months of sitting around the house, Jim got bored and wanted to venture back into the working world.  He attained a job in August of 1998 and managed to stay there until May of 1999.  The income from both of us working and Jim's disability check, was wonderful.  Unfortunately it was so wonderful, that we forgot to save money. 

YEAR FOUR:
    After acquiring some assistance from family members, we moved back out on our own and back to Dover. We took possession of our first apartment, of our own in over a year and a half, on July 17, 1999.  We moved some things by car as Rhonda's parents worked in Dover, but did not officially reside there until July 24th.  We were completely moved in on the 25th.  It took two trips with a U-Haul to make the move.  The following Friday, July 30, 1999, we were married at a small private ceremony at North Church in Portsmouth.  Jim's mother and sister and Rhonda's mother and step-father were the only guests that we could afford to invite.  Rhonda immediately found a job the next week and Jim became a stay at home husband with the two cats, Spaz and Sissy.

YEAR FIVE:
    Things were pretty uneventful for Jim until July 17, 2000, when after a year of being alone with just the cats, for the better part of the week, he decided to start working again and assumed a position as prep cook for Au Bon Pain.  Things were a little rocky at first, nerves and such made the seizures more frequent, but in November of 2000, he went to see a new doctor and got put on a new medication.  That made all the difference in the world.  Also in November he was promoted to shift supervisor.  Rhonda was still at the same job she had taken a year prior and things were looking up.
YEAR SIX:
     In January of 2001, Jim was once again promoted this time to Assistant Manager.  A position he held until July 24,2001, when at the end of a two week notice he left that job.  Rhonda, who had started working at the same job as Jim, also left the same day.  They both embarked on new fronts.  Jim went to work for Taco Bell and was hired as an Assistant Manager trainee and Rhonda went to work for Hair 'N' Now where she was hired as a clerk, but was promoted to manager after only a couple of months.

YEAR SEVEN:
     In November of 2002, Jim, frustrated with the way things were going at Taco Bell, embarked on a total career change and moved on from the food industry to a sales position with Radio Shack.  He is extremely happy with his decision and hopes to have a long and lucrative future with this company.  Rhonda left her position at Hair 'N' Now in September of 2002 and moved on to a position with CVS, she was hired as a shift manager and is fast approaching her one year anniversary with the company. 

YEAR EIGHT:
     2003 Proved to be a relatively uneventful year as both Jim and Rhonda managed to stay with their respective employers.  They were both still happy with their jobs and are enjoying the freedom that comes with making more than enough money to make ends meet.  2004 on the other hand did not allow them to go unscathed, Jim's career was accelerating to a point where he would finally achieve a long-term goal, they bought a car, a 1987 Volvo 240DL wagon, he successfully passed the Assistant Manager Program with Radio Shack, scoring a 96% on his final exam, and was preparing to take on his own store in January 2005.  This was not to be the case for some cosmic reason or another, Jim was leaving work one evening in October and all was as usual until he got to the bank to drop off the deposit.  He had stopped by his house to use the restroom before dropping off the deposit, when he arrived at the bank the deposit was nowhere to be found.  He spent three days trying to find said deposit and stupidly keeping his mouth shut about having misplaced (lost) it.  He was terminated from that position and went to work for Circuit City, he was there through years end.  As if that was not bad enough, Rhonda also lost her job around the middle of November,  the CVS where she was working underwent a management change and she and the new manager did not see eye to eye on a lot of circumstances.  They ended up having an eruptive argument and Rhonda stated that she could not work in the condition the argument put her in (she did not wish to take out any anger from the argument on her co-workers or the customers) so she went home for the day to cool off.  She called the next morning to get her schedule for the rest of the week and was informed that she was deemed to have quit the day before as she was considered a walkout, even though she left the store 1/2 an hour before her shift was to start.  She was unable to find work for the last couple of months of the year as morning sickness took complete control over her waking hours.  Yes that is right she was pregnant, the only real bright spot in an otherwise crappy ending to the year.

YEAR NINE:
     January 2005 proved that there was to be a comical (sarcasm, for those immune to it) edge to this year too, as Jim developed sciatica and was in and out of work for the first three months of the year along with this came increased seizure activity as he was also still the sole provider of the house and income was as uncertain as his pain.  The car started to have issues and also prevented him from getting to work, so finally in March he called his Sales Manager and told him to just fire him.  They talked for some time and agreed to keep the door open so that when the situations were worked out he would still have a job to return to.  This is how it was left and he was to return to work in late June early July.  He immediately filed for unemployment compensation and had Rhonda do the same.  It is now July 19th and this is how things still are, Rhonda is due near the end of this week to the beginning of August and Jim is still out of work, stress is at an all-time high, but for the most part they are supporting each other emotionally.  In 11 days they will celebrate their sixth year wedding anniversary.  UPDATE!!!!  8/14/2005:  Jim and Rhonda are enjoying the fruits of nine months of nurturing.  That is correct, our baby has arrived; Hannah Jacqueline Davis is now a member of the family she was born August 9, 2005 at 7:39pm.

WRAP UP:

    What does the majority of America really care about our lives, well we hope that this story of the nine happiest years of our lives, will bring--if even a glimmer--some hope to any couples who are going through similar problems. That would make us happy to have helped.

     If anyone who views this would like to respond or share a story of their own, you can e-mail us at  jandrdavis@jandrdavis.net  Hope to hear from you and we promise a reply.