Me at 30's Arc

Chapter 1 of 7

The trailer sat on bare dirt surrounded by trees. I carried the last box inside and set it on the floor. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen barely big enough to turn around in. The kids would share the smaller room. I'd take the other. Rent here was half what we'd been paying, and that difference meant groceries for a whole week. I unpacked the car in three trips. Everything we owned fit in the trunk and back seat. I'd left behind the couch, the dining table, the bookshelf. Furniture cost nothing compared to starting over. The kids' beds came in pieces I could carry. Their clothes filled two boxes. I'd packed their schoolbooks, their winter coats, and the stuffed animals they slept with. That was enough. Outside, I built them a sandbox using spare boards I found stacked behind the trailer. I hammered the corners together and filled it with sand from the hardware store. Twenty dollars. The kids came running when I called them over. They kicked off their shoes and climbed in. Their laughter was the first sound I'd heard all day that wasn't worry. I stood watching them dig and pour and build. The trailer was smaller than our old apartment. The land was raw and unfamiliar. But the budget was finally going to work. I could pay rent and still feed them. That was raising them the best way I knew how.