That settled, I want to see firsthand the progress on my new home. Johanna has been building it on the five acres they had procured for a future Tiny Home community. Because it’s two hours away from where I live, she has been texting me daily with updates, pictures, and funny stories. But I have to see it in person at least once during the build…

I pick hitchhikers off my pants absentmindedly, then I reach around the back of my shirt and realize the damn things are everywhere. I look over at Pete, he’s wearing them all along the bottom of his shirt too, but appears not to notice…

My Berkey water filter sits on the far end of my lanai, next to the sink. Unfortunately, the light from the fixture beside my front door doesn’t extend that far, but no worries, I walk out in the dark every morning to get water for my coffee. I know the route…

TRIGGER WARNING AND SPOILER ALERT! This tale is about the demise of a rat. If you are squeamish about such things, you may want to give this story a pass. I will try not to be too graphic, but at the end of the day, the rat didn’t make it. But he did put up one hell of a fight…

I contemplate buying some raw land, but apart from the enormous added expense, I would run into more pesky rules and regulations regarding the house, that was technically not a house…

The building process goes quickly. Johanna explains that Tiny Houses fall between the cracks of all the bureaucracy that normally stands between you and your new home. Because they are on wheels, and therefore moveable, they are not technically classified as a house…

Within a few days, I have several renditions sketched up, but I still have no idea if they will be really feasible. I confide to my friend Nancy that I’m floundering and losing sleep over this design process. I don’t want to make a huge mistake on something so important…

The week following my spontaneous outburst, I have a meeting with Johanna and Barrie, to sign contracts and start the process. We sit across from each other in their living room, and Barrie extends an ordinary 8 ½ X 11 sheet of white paper, with a large rectangle drawn to scale on it, in my direction…

“I don’t know what it is,” she says. But I can tell from the look on her face that she is as scared for me as I am. “We’ll fly you to Oahu for a CAT scan to get more information, then we’ll discuss a plan of action…

I haven’t just said, “I want one!” To a loaf of bread or even a new car. I’ve just committed to a house.
This decision is not quite as spontaneous as it appears at first blush. The following week I found myself soul-searching to make sure this big choice was not just another of my; commit in haste, repent at leisure projects…

The phone call came on a Tuesday morning in August 2014. I had been home for only six weeks, from my summer trip to Rochester, to visit my family.
“Mom,” Michelle starts with a quavering voice, “Alicia wanted me to call you because she couldn’t handle talking about it yet.”
“What? What couldn’t she handle talking about?” My stomach flipped. “What’s going on?”
…

PART 4

“The operation went very well. We’ve kept her on the respirator for now as we gave her some extra anesthesia at the end to ensure that she gets some solid rest for the remainder of the night. We don’t anticipate her waking up until morning.” I want to hug the doctor…CONTINUE READING

PART 3

Forty-five minutes later I’m at the airport. It’s still dark out, but it’s now four o’clock. The flurry of activity to pack a few clothes and hightail it to the airport has kept me from falling apart…

At the risk of anthropomorphizing, I look over at MacKenzie, sitting next to me in the backseat of Bronwen and Micky’s car, and think she looks uncannily human…

I pull up in the driveway of my current place of residence that I loosely call home, when in reality it is far from the cozy picture that name implies…

The majority of people who want more than a conventional life, often start out by experimenting with different lifestyle choices shortly after leaving school. ..

I feel like I’m living my life backwards. This is my first conscious thought as I slowly ascend from the depths of sleep…