Tuesday
23Dec2008
A Tiny House and Holidays
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 I adore my tiny house. It's obviously compact, and yet I have everything I need.
I have a living room area with a couch and footrest, end tables, bookshelves, a television, my desk and computer. I have a bedroom with a queen size bed, a triple dresser and a chest dresser, shelves for misc odds and ends and a rod to hang clothes on. I have a tiny bathroom which consists of two buckets with Luggable Loo lids. I also have a kitchen with a nice sized cabinet with counter space and storage, plenty of shelves for all my food , a cupboard for dishes, cups and misc items, a refrigerator and a small table that contains a microwave , coffeepot and a place to pile junk.
I live here with my three little ankle biters. It's cozy and warm and easy to clean.
I built a porch around it, which in time will be covered, and that expands my space at least when it's warm outside.
What else could one person need?
Tiny house living is pretty awesome on a daily basis, but there is one huge drawback, at least for me, and that's the holidays.
I have a rather small family, there are nine of us, grandmother, mom and dad, three sons, one with a wife and child. Counting myself that makes nine people.
For many, many years, my house has been the center of family gatherings for the holidays. I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas the whole year long. I spend days cleaning and cooking and I almost always set a formal table. It's the only excuse I have to get out the stemware and chargers and holiday dishes. I always have a fire going in the fireplace, candles abound, Christmas music and Oh, those holiday smells!
I have many years of family photos taken in front of the same fireplace. The mantle landscape changed and we all got older every year, but it still remained the same.
Because my home now is too small to hold nine people and all the food, Thanksgiving was moved to my son and daughter-in-laws home this year. It was a wonderful family gathering and I still did the cooking for the family and we were happy to be together and we all took leftovers home.
Christmas has been moved to my mom and dads' home this year. Mom and I spent a wonderful day making cookies and candy and I will go to spend a couple of nights there to help with all the other cooking, and it will be a terrific Christmas this year.
We have all decided for the first time not to exchange gifts. Times are hard for all of us, so my two year old grandson will be the one to open packages, and I can't wait to watch him.
Actually, I'm looking forward to this Christmas more than any others for that very reason. This has been the least stressful Christmas yet, not having to worry about going into debt to buy gifts. My youngest son brought the idea up first. He told me that having the family together and eating good food meant more to him than anything, and that brought tears to my eyes.
When you think about it, that is so true. We don't usually remember over the years the gifts that we receive, but we do remember the family gatherings and the photos in front of the fireplace serve to remind us of that.
So I have learned an important lesson from my youngest. It doesn't matter where it's at or what's under the tree or whether there is china and crystal and candles and fireplaces.
What matters is family, and I am so grateful to have every one of them.
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Reader Comments (2)
Reading your thoughts on the holidays is what holidays are supposed to be about. It makes me feel the loss of my mother 2 years ago. I wish my two brothers had similar sentiment toward our families. Being a single Dad for about five years with two daughters and a son, working to keep them all in STUFF was very hard. Blessings to you and yours.
Thanks and good luck raising those children. It's tough to go it alone sometimes but worth every minute in the end.