The Easy Life

Mama PC

Something Naytron said in commenting below made me think of the years 1992/93. We were a young family and had started feeling impressed to get out of debt and free of worldly trappings. We also were feeling that God would be moving us from the little town of Hobbs, America soon, so we wanted to be ready. I had dreamed that we would one day live in a trailer so that we could start paying off debts. I looked in the papers and all around town, but couldn't find one. Several months later, a lady at the church donated her trailer to the church where John was employed. We told them we would pay to have it moved if they would allow us to live in it. So, we had it moved...and we moved into it one cold February day. Several days later (early one Sunday morning) the temperature dropped and all the pipes froze! We had to get ready for church with no water and space heaters! The prior owner told us we couldn't use the heater because it was emitting gasses and that there had once been a fire - which is the reason SHE moved out! Anyway, THANKFULLY I had left a trickle of water on in the yard for the dog, Lovey. You know, when there's frozen pipes, there is no water for cooking, brushing teeth, showering or flushing toilets! It was not a fun day. But, there was that trickle!!! And, thankfully there was a big hole in the kitchen window that had been taped up with duct tape...actually two holes in double paned windows. Resourcefully, I pushed that water hose up through those holes in the kitchen window and.... duct taped it in place...also to keep out the cold wind! Voila! We had a hose that I could position to fill a pan which I could place on the stove to heat water for cooking or bathing...and cold water flowed which we carried to the bathrooms to flush toilets! I tell you, even through the hardships of those days where we were cold and strangely equipped, I felt the most joy in my environment. It was all about the overcoming of the obstacles and the fun of making something work. It was an ugly trailer. But, that made it better for me because it didn't have to be kept up perfectly. It was just what it was. A shell to be made into a home. It had 3 bedrooms. The girls shared one at the end of the house...when they wanted to play on the floor, they stood the twin mattresses up against the wall, so that they'd have more playspace. Jeremiah's room had been made into a storage room with wide shelved cabinets all along one wall. There wasn't even enough room in there for a bed, so I took the doors off the cabinets, and made a pallet on the wide shelves and he slept there! Seriously! He was about 4 years old. Am I a strange mom or what! But it worked... and we had the time of our lives. That year we started homeschooling too... and spent many hours in that trailer and out in the tiny yard, playing with the animals and digging in the dirt. We paid off all our bills and cars and were free of financial encumbrances. So, even though we lived in a very simple place, with not all the efficiencies.. we truly lived richer than anywhere else we've ever lived.

Wednesday afternoon (after the freeze on Sunday) I was coming home and saw water pouring out of one end of the house! The kids had turned on every faucet in the trailer when the water was frozen and then, when the sun had come out enough, and the pipes unfroze, water filled the tubs and sinks and ended up FLOODING the end of the trailer! Oh well, it wasn't a horrible thing. We just mopped it up and did the best we could. I think there were a few pipes that had to be repaired, but all in all, God gave us a good time as we placed ourselves into His plan of living a life of simplicity. I wonder if we have any photos of the two years we lived there? No matter, the pictures are imbedded in our hearts, where we can go back and visit there at any time. We became a stronger family unit living in an ugly, disfunctional house.... that became our home because WE lived and loved in it.