HAVE I LOST MY MIND?
IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE IT WHEN LOOKING AT THE MESSES in the COTTAGE. Who in their right mind would consider doing such a thang coming from a beautiful two story historical house on a large corner lot in small town America to living amongst the mess of boxes everywhere you turn in a tiny COTTAGE that is a fixer upper?
me.
Lil 'ole me and my Husband of 49 years. That's whoooooo. This downsizing is tough. I had no intentions of moving into a fixer upper AGAIN. I have done this before and really didn't want to do it again. SO why did I? It's complicated and yet it's very simple. We desire to be completely out of debt which meant doing something drastic like moving into a small COTTAGE that we owned. This part isn't crazy. Squeezing into it might be seen as you've lost yo mind though.
Question...just how much STUFF do you really need to live a full life?
I know I'm not alone in this kind of adventure. Even though our small COTTAGE is a fixer upper, she is in tact and many people move into places that are without walls and ceilings. They'd see to it that their living environment didn't stay in such a bad state of repairs. Improvement happened. My goodness, how did they survive? How did they ever do it?
I have not lost my mind, but some would say, you can't lose something you never had. grins.
We shall see if we can downsize to the point of fitting in to this small habitat. I know it's possible, but do we really want to do this while alive? We had tried to fit in about 7 years ago and it was my Husband that said the place was too small. We'd move into the house we are presently selling. So why sell?
As older people, we have changed our minds about the floor plan that the lovely old house has. Also, the place has a mortgage, hefty taxes on it and utilities that we have to pay each month.
To meet one's needs, things happen and minds can change. LATER, it won't be a surprise to us if we move into a slightly larger place then this tiny COTTAGE has to age well in. This is a stepping stone. Then again, we may change our mind and stay put. Staying flexible.
PLACES TO LIVE. My dear friend Pat comes to mind that shared with me a story about when she first married her second HUSBAND. She was desperately working at getting out of debt and paying off her new HUSBAND's debt. She didn't know when she married him that he did not pay his bills. The shock of it all would send many women to a divorce lawyer, but she didn't go there. Together they dug their way out of debt by living in a place in the country that was rent free in exchange for them fixing up the place. I'm not sure one could find a place like this now, but at the time this is what they did.
They'd fix the place up as they lived there when some called them crazy because it was a PIT. They were not accustomed to seeing PAT live in such squalor. They were shocked that she stooped so low after getting married to Nell.
She was in love and she was determined to make it work. It didn't come without STRESS. She shared with me what she did to get out of debt.
They'd eventually move elsewhere and when I met Pat, she and Nell were living in a large, rambling, two story Victorian house in Marion, Kansas. She had furnished it with furniture that she had purchased over the years and the house was decorated in true Victorian fashion. Their debt was gone.
I miss my sweet friend that was easy to talk to about LIFE, LIBERTY and THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. We met when I needed a good friend that understood me. CONVERSATIONS with her were uplifting and I sure needed that. Whenever we visited, time stopped.
I have a plan to get completely out of debt. I will continue studying and leaning on the LORD for comfort and instructions.
Psalm 23:3 is a beautiful verse. He restores my soul. Amen and amen.
I have not lost my mind and I don't plan to.
~d
