Well, it has officially been a month and 5 days since we’ve been in the trailer, and I am pleased to say that we are all alive. So for those of you who said we wouldn’t make it 2 weeks (Grandma), we did!
I am not sure how long it will take before we quit telling the kiddos to “stop touching that,” “stop running around the trailer,” “don’t play on the cushions,” “take your shoes off before you come inside,” “stop pushing the table like that,” “stop messing with the curtains in your room,” “stop playing with the bathroom door – you already broke it once,” or “how many times do I have to remind you to get your feet off of the white walls!”
Kids sure make things interesting and by interesting I mean, difficult. Sometimes it feels like we have two wild animals locked up in a 200 sq ft cage. Thankfully, we’re in a place where I can kick them outside to play and not worry about them. What I have found is it puts them in a different state of mind. They use their imagination and now they desire to be outside all the time.
Jamir has begun work on the tree outside. Anxious to see how that turns out.
As for Saveyah…she is our beautiful and carefree little girl; always full of sunshine.
In spite of previously living in a 2,000 sq ft home to now a 200 sq ft home, we are doing well. The transition has not been what I initially anticipated – it has been better. With the weather changing to sunny skies, we have found ourselves cooking dinner on the grill and eating at our picnic table. We’ve experienced sitting underneath the stars, smores by the fire and falling asleep to the hoot of an owl. What a great change from the life we had before.
I’ve had several moments when I’d look around our surroundings and find genuine contentment with where we live. It has been easy to find serenity when we are somewhat nestled in the woods. And although our home is “tiny” and most would considered it inadequate, I find it gratifying. Yes, more often than not, it seems like we are constantly stepping on each other or having to wait for the other person to move before we can open a door, but it has never been a deal breaker. Just because its been difficult doesn’t mean I’m ready to throw in the towel. Personally, I have not once missed our house. I do not miss the size of our bedroom. Surprisingly, I don’t even miss the size of our kitchen. Silvia may be small…but she has already given us a big life.
I realize that, in some way or another, comfort will forever be what we search for in life. It seems to promise much in our overall happiness. But I just don’t buy it. To me, comfort will always come with a cost. I fear it gives us a falsified view of what God truly desires for our lives. Comfort has a way of over saturating reality. I believe it gives us the idea we have more than what we actually posses.
I don’t want my comfort defined in what I have, nor do I want it defined in the way I perceive life should be for me and my family. Comfort, or being content, is simply an attitude of being satisfied. But satisfied in what? Satisfied in God. I choose, everyday, to be satisfied in Him and satisfied in where He has brought me. Comfort then, is when I choose to rest in that satisfaction.
Less is more,
Niki
L I V I N G L E S S 