Being Homeless

Thirty years ago we were homeless.  Well, not exactly. We had a house that was covered with ashes and soot. The living room was a burned-out shell. The fire had started in there with a spark from an old TV set and spread to the kitchen before it was contained.  So, we did have a home, but we couldn’t live in it. Thanks to a generous friend, we would have a roof over our heads until she returned from her Thanksgiving trip. Beginning the cleanup, submitting paperwork to the insurance company and finding a house to rent consumed our time.  We went to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving. Taking a break was essential for me, my husband, two teen-age daughters and our young son.

In the midst of this disaster, we found things to be grateful for. No one was injured. We had insurance. A very helpful insurance adjuster had been assigned to our case. A contents company would help us empty the house so reconstruction could begin.

We found things to laugh about.

One teenage daughter had left money on the desk in her room. It was covered in soot. I plunged it into soapy water and then hung it on the clothesline in the garage of our “borrowed” house.  I heard Karen talking on the phone. “Grandma, I was filthy rich until Mom laundered my money. 

As we packed our van to move to a motel, my daughter Nancy said, “Mom, I guess we’re homeless, aren’t we?”

I smiled at her. “No, we aren’t. Home is wherever we all are together. We have a home.  We just don’t have a house to put it in right now.” 

She smiled back at me. “I get it. We live in a mobile home.”

I made a sign to go on the burned skeleton of our living room sofa.  “Fire Sale. Everything must go.” I was just adding a little fun to my soot-covered days, but it gave a message to my friends: “Rose is OK.” 

 

By Christmas we had moved into a rented house. We decorated the plywood panels that covered the windows the firemen broke when they were putting the fire out.

 

It took seven months to reconstruct the interior of our home and replace the things we lost. We were grateful then for the many blessings we had received. And we are still grateful. Our home is back where it belongs.