My most recent post chronicled a very difficult time in my life and the life of my family--the loss of all our worldly possessions in a freak flood. In it I also commented on a part of the outcome--ending up on two acres of country property. At the time I said it was a "whole other tale for another day." This seems to be a perfect time to fill in the blanks.
We were one of the fortunate ones to have been covered by flood insurance. Our home at the time of the flood was a mobile home and, because it had wheels, was given the same kind of coverage as an automobile. While not a huge amount of money, it was at least something. Those who lived in real houses were not afforded any protection or compensation at all.
Housing in the area was in short supply due to an influx of population which had come to man a newly built paper mill, so we had no real options other than to replace the mobile home. Excitedly, we placed an order for our new home unsure where we were going to set it up.
I refused to go back to the mobile home park where we were flooded, and there was only one other setting which would accommodate the all-electric feature. We made the decision to have it brought to the alternate park even though it was a very crowded space. Having grown up in the country, being squeezed in on all sides didn't set well, but there was no other choice. My husband at the time was working the midnight shift and was supposed to stop by on his way home from work to place a deposit. He forgot three days in a row. Because we hadn't secured the site it was given to someone else.
We had the pending delivery of a new mobile home and virtually no place to put it. I'm not sure how long we wrestled with the situation, but at one point my husband said, "Let's go find some property to put it on." Now that makes perfect sense, doesn't it? We got in the car and headed out with no thought or direction in mind. To make a long story short which, in case you haven't already noticed, I am incapable of doing--We headed up a winding road we had never driven up before and which I was quite certain led nowhere. There we discovered a plot of land. I'm not sure there was even a "For Sale" sign on it as we asked a neighbor if it was available and who the realtor was.
We had all of $100 which we used as earnest money with the promise of $900 for the down payment. It turned out that we were able to claim our flood loss on taxes and that $900 came just in time for the finalizing of the deal. We had a place to bring the mobile home to.
Our home up Scholfield Road was a gift. I loved living there. The mobile home was replaced with a house as the family grew, and it was a gathering place for people of all ages. All of my four children grew up there, and I would not trade that place, that space, that time for anywhere else in the world. Do you wonder, do you question why I live my life the way I do? The One who made me has taken such good care of me and continues to do so.
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