A small home has much more to offer than a larger one because of the simple fact of family.

I have been fortunate to have a lot offered to me in my life and I had seen my family struggle through tough times and losing our 4500 sq ft home and everything in it over the last 4 years. But that didn't stop my family from moving forward in life and keep our family going.

At times I think about our big house and loved the fact that I could have my privacy whenever I wanted. I could be alone in my room and not hear anything but my own breath. I would hide myself in my room for hours and sit on my computer just typing and surfing away to get in touch with my virtual world.

Once in a while I would leave my solitary confinement and go through a couple of doors, down the hall, down the stairs, around the corner, through the foyer and finally to the kitchen to get a bite to eat or a drink and take it back up the stairs to my room to eat alone.

Every family member had their own version of solitary confinement and we were content to have our own little (or big) piece of the house that we could call our own and be alone with our thoughts and snacks. We were happy, or we thought.

When my dad lost his job in 2007 we saw life going downhill fast. We tried to manage on savings, knew that the house had to be sold, changed our lifestyle dramatically and lived as if the last days of earth were coming.

We had trouble selling the house but we knew this would happen. Over 15% of the houses in our neighborhood were foreclosures. Well, we added ours to that list too about 9 months later. We were sad, heartbroken and frustrated. I could see it in my dad's eyes that he felt that he had let the family down and as much as he tried to be strong, he would hide himself in his empty office and cry. As big as our house was, when it was empty, you could hear everything and the echo of his sorrow whispered through the cold walls.

About a year later my family rented out a small, cozy, post war bungalow in the next city over. We didn't have much to move in so all of our belongings fit well in the 1200 sq ft house. My parents had the upstairs which was actually the attic but nicely constructed to be a bedroom. My brother and I had to share the one other bedroom that was on the first floor. I never thought that I would ever have to share a room in my life, let alone with my brother. It wasn't easy but we knew that we had no choice.

It took some getting used to with not only sharing the bedroom, but all of us having to share a very small bathroom too. We never had to do this before but it made for some crazy mornings when all of us had somewhere to be.

My dad found a job working as a clerk in a Best Buy and my mom starting working, for the first time in her life, at local restaurant as a server. My brother and I still had school but we had to pick up side jobs too to help make ends meet with the family and our education.

My family became tired and lifeless quickly and moments after coming home from our jobs or school, we all would just crash on the couch, too tired to get up to get something to eat. We all had different schedules so we never ate together anymore. Only grabbing cold pizza from the fridge, a banana from the fruit bowl, a pop tart from the cabinet.

Life changed and we all believed that it got could not get worse for us. It wasn't easy to make ends meet and we all had to help with cleaning, cooking, shopping, and everything else that goes with living. The money was barely enough to keep us floating. To top it all, we had 2 dogs that felt the suffering too. We weren't around as much to walk them and play with them. We had to cut back on the prime food that we had fed them before. They stopped getting new toys and had to get home made ones like old socks tied in a knot. They didn't seem to complain much but we were glad that we could still have them in our lives. They were the only thing that seem to put a smile on our faces when we came home.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 19.11.2011

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