Oh, you have all seen that Facebook post, the shabby run down shack with the dare "would you live here for one month?" Oh, it goes on, no internet, no cell phone, no TV. People are all stating how they would absolutely LOVE to do this. Hah! Well, O.K. maybe for a month, but I bet a huge majority of you would probably get a tad antsy about 2 weeks in. All you cell phone folks would go insane, you are as addicted to those things, as I am to cigarettes, and to go cold turkey, would be very difficult. Funny, as someone who has not accepted this gadget, and someone who has been look upon with pitying eyes.."What..You don't have a Cell phone? But why not?". I think I might have mentioned the why nots, before. I hate phones! They interrupt...I was brought up, taught I was never to interrupt someone..LMAO..well, I was taught that, and not allowed to do so for the first 19-20 years of my life, and I have more than made up for those lost years, however...unless I am waiting to hear from someone in particular, I cringe when the phone rings.
If I am waiting for a call, and I have to use the washroom, I will take the damn thing in with me, just in case. However, on more than one occasion, the bloody thing has started ringing just past the point of getting up from the throne. Now..because I get so few calls, I worry..is there a family emergency? I can't let a call go..so I do what has to be done to get to the ringing thing, before it stops. "Hello..this is Credit Card Something or the other. We want to help you lower your interest rate." WTF!!! I went through all that, just for a stupid automatic voice with useless information. Ring, Ring..Out I rush, not feeling too comfortable "HONK!!! This is your captain speaking" OMG!! Some insane trip offer that I have no possible way of even considering. This stupid stuff may have only inconvenienced me for a few moments, but...it was unwanted, and as far as I am concerned, pardon the pun..a bunch of useless sh*t! So, when I go out the door to my home, and leave what is generally an annoyance, I am free. I do not have an answering machine, so any and all calls when I am not home, are not recorded. I have hours of time when, if one wants to reach me, they must call my workplace, and have the message past on. I understand, my family finds this irritating, but, still, I persist on living in the "stone age", because I am comfortable. So..yep, I could live in that shack for years without a cell phone.
TV..not as easy as a cell phone, but... lived many months without TV, spent my childhood without cartoons, so..definitely could manage that.
Internet..not so simple. That I am addicted to. Not sure how I got tangled up so badly, but there is only one possible way I could survive a month internet free, and that would be books. I would be thrilled to be set anywhere, with an unending supply of reading material, so yep, I could do that.
In fact, besides the internet...I am doing that! See, we have our own little shack. It looks very much like the one in the picture. The cedar siding is so weathered it is grey, the front porch is barely hanging on. The fence around the yard, with the nice old apple trees, has collapsed and the remnants of what once was a lovely bay window, long since removed, flap when the wind picks up. The wind also blows through poorly insulated walls, and the windows fill with condensation when one cooks. The flooring is ripped and filled with splits from almost 20 years of wear. Not one wall is even. It is tiny, just a little shack, no granite counters,actually hardly any counter at all.
It has what one needs for the basics of life. It has a bathroom, a kitchen, a roof and walls..oh, yeah, bedrooms and a very small livingroom. No man cave, den, family room, basement, extra bathroom..none of that. It is simply a place to live, out of the elements. Just like that cozy little place, everyone apparently dreams about. I am, apparently, living the dream. LMAO.
This little hovel has been our home since my youngest was about 3 (she is 24).We raised them in a house that, at one time, I had to chip the ice out of the bathtub, before running the water. We lived with plywood floors for the first 11-12 years, and ceilings that were little more than insulation and clear plastic. I endured a horrifying chimney fire, because the chimney was nothing more than dried up mortar and bricks ( check out that cozy shack, and make sure that chimney is up to par), so..no fear of that anymore, but heating the place with baseboards is not a simple(or cheap) task. I hated this house! It was impossible to keep clean, it was never warm in the winter, it was pretty much embarrassing when anyone new actually saw it. I spent one winter day, crawling on my back under it, trying to thaw the pipes, I spent more days one summer helping the rest of my family put a new roof on. I was thrilled to leave all the hardships behind, and set off for a new life, in a wonderful 3 story house, with 4 bathrooms, kitchen counters, nice new gas furnace, and all the fancy trappings I dreamed about.
I got old!! My kids grew up..I no longer need 4 bathrooms, I no longer need 3 stories, it is all wasted space! The upkeep takes more of that valuable time, between answering the phone. I feel obligated to do housework, before going outside. I have adapted to spending the majority of my time in a small area, so...the past struggles of paying mortgages and property taxes, and home owners insurance on two homes, has actually proven to be worthwhile. We held onto our little hovel, through nightmare renters, and long distance issues..it sits, pretty much as we left it.
The trick now, to find a way to return to the basics of life. I know I can manage to live without extra "fixings", I know that is exactly what I want, in life. I am a simple person, (oh, go ahead, simple minded, as well). I don't care how the rest of the world sees me, I know what makes me comfortable, and reasonably content. Because my children are grown, I have an extra room, I can fill it with books, and when I have to come indoors, I will be happy, knowing that I get this, for more than a month!
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