AURORA — The front door opened, and Kevin Anton stepped into an empty living room with a high, white ceiling, light-colored carpet and walls awash in neutral colors — a blank canvas for the next phase of his life.
“I’m loving it all over again,” he said as he roamed room to room in the two-story, three-bedroom property he was about to purchase on a corner lot in a cul-de-sac.
His fiancée, Edna Ramos, eyed the walls she will soon repaint and couldn’t stop grinning as she imagined the suddenly cavernous house filled with their furniture, two dogs and, most important, two young sons.
“This is way bigger than I remember,” she said.
Anton, a veteran in transition to civilian life, calls the move into their own place a “grown-up decision.” Since he left the Army in 2009 after serving four years as an intelligence specialist and through a tour in Iraq, his life has been about embracing personal growth outside the structure of the military.
He settled on a career in nursing, then studied to become a licensed practical nurse at Concorde Career College — where he also met Ramos. From there, he worked overnight shifts at a hospital while attending community college to wrap up some prerequisites for the bachelor’s degree he’s now pursuing at the University of Phoenix.
He and Ramos became serious and, about a year ago, welcomed a son. Anton took a new job at a Lakewood rehabilitation center that offered eight-hour shifts — a welcome change from his previous 12-hour graveyard duties.
At 25, he has adjusted to a succession of new roles: student, breadwinner, father, fiancé.
And now: homeowner.
“Buying a house,” he said, “is like walking on ice and fire at the same time. We’ve been completely stressed out.”
It didn’t help that one of the family cars had to go into the shop. Troubles piled higher when Anton took a phone call at the couple’s rental house informing him that — what else — the repairs would be more extensive, and expensive, than originally planned.
Bills were piling up. Room was running out on his credit cards. His next paycheck couldn’t come soon enough. But while he acknowledges that tight finances can get depressing, he finds himself counting his blessings.
“I always make it work,” Anton said. “It’s not the first time me and Edna have had to work off of $50 for two weeks.”
Ramos has cut back her work hours to manage the home front, where 5-year-old Isaiah, her son from a previous relationship, and 1-year-old Kevin Jr. keep her busy. It was an adjustment, but one that allowed for more time with the kids — and with Anton.
“He’s able to do his homework and not be stressed,” Ramos said. “Before, it was so overwhelming — he’d be up for 30 hours at a time. That’s insane.”
Family life has smoothed out, now that Anton takes a single class in a four-hour block from 6-10 p.m every Thursday. After an English class, he has settled into a math course that he considers closer to his academic strength.
“It’s soothing to my soul,” he said. “I do love school — I’m a geek at heart. I’m able to nourish my inner geek.”
Meanwhile, “Junior” has become a “daddy’s boy,” Ramos said, reveling in the time he spends with his father. A few weeks ago, they celebrated his first birthday.
For all the ways his life has zoomed forward, Anton still feels the tug of military life. He left the Army, where he’d advanced quickly to the rank of sergeant and loved the structure and responsibility, only because his parents begged him not to re-up.
But now, when his military background rubs uncomfortably against civilian life, he finds himself reconsidering. He gets impatient when others don’t take their job as seriously as he does. And while he loves the experience of working at a rehab facility, he aspires to more adrenaline-charged work — a civilian flight nurse, perhaps, or something Army-related.
Recently, he made it as far as the recruiting office to chat about the possibilities. But those thoughts were interrupted when his brother came to visit from California and, amid days of whitewater rafting and baseball, Anton let the idea go. For now.
“The more I stay as a civilian, I feel like as soon as I get my bachelor’s, I might literally jump back into the mix,” he said. “I’ll only be 27 or 28. And I can re-enlist as an officer and keep going. This civilian life is really starting to get on my nerves.”
He looks at his Army buddy, Robert Allen, who’s stationed at Fort Hood in Texas and recently won a promotion, and imagines that he could be right there with him, rising in the ranks.
Allen knew his friend would miss the lifestyle and camaraderie.
“I think he may have gotten out earlier than he expected,” said Allen, who recently drove to Colorado for a visit. “We used to joke about it, his percentages of getting out and staying in. It went from 80-20 in favor of getting out, then 60-40, then 50-50. I knew a portion of him wanted to stay in.”
The couple has a rough plan to stay in Colorado for at least five years, so he can finish his degree, and Ramos, who’s still working 20 hours a week at her nursing job, can resume school, as well. Then both could move forward in nursing with their bachelor’s degrees.
Then, perhaps, they could return to California, where Anton grew up the youngest of three sons raised by Nicaraguan immigrants.
As with Anton’s education, which he pays for through the GI Bill, the house also became possible through the military. A VA loan eased the way for the couple to claim their chunk of the American dream with no down payment.
“To spend that much money at once is pretty frightening,” Ramos said. “But it’s worth it. The kids will have a house to grow up and play in.”
From the walk-through, Anton and Ramos made their way to the closing in an office building at the Denver Tech Center. Anton grinned and joked as he plowed through a thick pile of documents requiring his signature or initials.
“It’s like MEPS all over again,” said Anton, referring to the Military Entrance Processing Station where he was inducted into the Army.
Beside him, Ramos clapped softly as, page by page, the deal was done. For the moment, at least, the sheer excitement of home ownership — and Anton’s self-confidence — overcame any fear of the huge step they’d taken at a time of economic uncertainty.
“Every decision I made has somehow, some way, come at the right time,” Anton said afterward. “This is one of the biggest I’ve made in a while.”
Kevin Simpson: 303-954-1739, ksimpson@denverpost.com or
AmericanHomecomings
