In the Beginning....

Occasionally, my mind wanders back to when hubby and I got married. It really takes some reminiscing to go all the way back to before we had children; back to when we lived in a single-wide mobile home for 3 years.

Yesterday evening, I thought of those two weeks before we said our vows. After our realtor failed us miserably by lying to us about the house we bid on in order to try to make a higher commission, we found ourselves facing homelessness unless we found something fast. We both hated the idea of apartment dwelling, hubby being a farm boy and me dying for at least a little yard to putter in. So, I went on a search for a mobile home in one of the local parks. I found this quaint park tucked away in a pine forest. It seemed quiet. The lots were decent sized. And there was this trailer for sale with a big shed, two decks and cabin-like wood siding. A phone call said it had 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. That sounded good, and the price was right. Financing could be done through the park owner AND the lot rent was the cheapest in the area.

Two weeks before our wedding, we held the keys in our hands. Hubby would go find work during the day, since he was temporarily laid off at that point, and I would drive over from my parents' house and tackle our little home. Or, at least I'd try. I'll be honest with you, I didn't know where to start. I had no motivation. I was overwhelmed. It seemed to daunting.

My mother actually did most of the deep cleaning. She knew what to do and wasn't daunted at all. Thank God for her! But, as I look back, a much more experienced housekeeper now, I shake my head at how a little trailer overwhelmed me so!

Really, though, I wasn't trained up to take on such a project. I also have the personality flaw of if something doesn't come to me easily, I get overwhelmed and tend to avoid it. But, I'm glad I thought of those two weeks. As I train up my children, I pray I don't forget to train them up to tackle big projects with gusto and not be overwhelmed. Right now they are. I can see it. They have no problem making a big mess, but when it comes time to clean it up, my 4 year old gets stressed out and doesn't know where to start and my 2 year old simply walks away and ignores what she doesn't want to do. Being the more experienced housekeeper now, I get frustrated with their behavior as I egg them on to do as they're told. But, now I've dug deep into an almost forgotten past and I understand their feelings. It can be overwhelming. Now, we can have a new beginning.