Shoeboxes

Our first home together was a small trailer. I think it was 10x50 feet, but it may have been 12x60. We entertained friends there, learned how to live in a small space with a new person, "played house," and jokingly called it our shoebox. The next home was a one bedroom efficiency apartment, after that we had a couple of two bedroom apartments, moved into a house with 3 bedrooms and two living spaces, and now we are in a larger house, though the number of rooms is smaller. I recently found out that the people living across the road from us are a family of four. The trailer they live in is what you take camping. It is about the size of my minivan; maybe 6x10 feet. They have two children living with them, ages 2 and 5 months. I went over last night and saw inside the trailer. You only have room to turn your body when you walk down the "aisle." The last couple of days have been rainy, and they haven't been able to let the little one outside. I can't imagine what you do in a "kiddie shoebox" with two small children all day long. Right now they are without a vehicle too, so going somewhere for a change of scenery is not a possibility. I took the husband to get propane the other day, and to buy diapers. Last night I was there because an ambulance was there. I wanted to make sure they were taken care of if they needed a ride to the hospital. The EMS let them all 4 ride in the ambulance. The mother had fallen and hit her head very hard. The father was calm, but a little shaken, and got the kids dressed and in their car seats. They seem like such a nice couple. Her comment to me the other day was that "at least we have a roof over our heads, and our family is together. That's what is important." That is a difficult thing to say when you are the one living it. I suppose you could look at it as things could be worse. There are people who live in real cardboard boxes. They don't have toilets or electricity. There is no heat. There is no refrigerator to store your food for later, no stove for cooking dinner. That kind of shoebox would be unbearable to me. The husband came by a minute ago to borrow our phone. He said his wife is fine, though they gave her some pain meds. --------- I am registered to take the GRE next Friday. The next two weeks will be brief blogs.