….Life Is About Creating Yourself

I received a gift last week from a dear friend.  It’s a paperweight with a message embedded on the bottom that reads, “life isn’t about finding yourself, Life is about CREATING yourself."

She told me months ago she was in a store, it caught her eye and I immediately came to mind so without hesitation or further thought she bought it for me. 

How well she knows me and how true it is.  Thanks Miss Amy….

Any-Hoo, our travels continue and as we sit in the high desert of central Arizona this week living off the resources of our motorhome (otherwise known as boon docking) I can’t help but think that I’m not so much creating myself now as revisiting my childhood as a farm girl on a self-sufficient stretch of Nebraska farmland. 

In the “now” we’re dependent on the water supply in our tanks.

In the “then” we were dependent on the water supply in our tanks that was pumped by a wind driven windmill.  I remember many a time waiting for the tank to fill before we could wash dishes or take baths.

In the “now” we carefully monitor our electricity use because of our dependence on solar panels and a diesel fueled generator to keep our batteries charged.  Diesel isn’t cheap and even something as simple as a toaster can suck up power like a thirsty drunk on a Saturday night!

In the “then” being frugal was the norm because money for electricity bills meant less food on the table, 1930’s wiring and old fashioned fuses couldn’t stand too much “action."  Leaving a light or television on while not in the room was strictly forbidden!

In the “now” everything that goes in a drain, goes down a drain and when septic tanks are full you’re either gonna have to wash dishes and pee outside or get yourself somewhere to “dump."

In the “then” the septic system was old and cranky.  Excess wastewater led to expensive and messy disasters and replacing a septic system was a financial impossibility. 

So as much as I like the idea of creating myself one precious day at a time, I cherish the ability to dig into the past and re-visit “selves” created eons ago and grateful that living simply as a child taught me how to “make do” and live independently from what most consider necessities.  The skill has served me well through the years. 

Afterthought:  the above was written a few weeks ago and now we are in a full-service campground with all the luxuries one could want and believe me I’m being as wasteful as a hog in a corn crib taking long-long showers, making toast, running the clothes dryer and using the blow dryer all at the same time.

I may be resourceful but I ain’t stupid!  Waste not – Want not has its time and place but not when we have full hook-ups!