Ok, the background.
Our neighbors, a couple with a 17 year old boy and a 13 old girl fell on some real hard times after the wife lost her job (waitress and restraunt closed) and the husband has been out of work in his own construction business. (Not much housing construction happening right now.) To make things really horrible, they lost their home in a fire this late summer and apparently the insurance had lapsed for missed/late payment. They have been temporarily living with her parents in a small farm house. They were never a well to do family by any stretch of the imagination and there were little or no svaings to fall back on.
I happened to have a 3 bedroom mobile home I put on the farm a few years ago for my mothyer-in-law to stay during the summers and she passed away three years after putting it in and its been sitting mostly vacant since then. Occasionally we have guests and they stay in it but its not often.
A bunch of my neighbors and I talked and made a plan. We used a four wheel drive tractor and moved (4 miles) the trailer to their property, others got the water, electric, septic in and hooked up. The local propane dealer (MFA) set a fuel tank and filled it. My wife organized the women and cleaned the inside top to bottom including all the furniture, carpets, dishes, absolutely everything. A couple of the farmers and their sons built an 8' x 16' enclosed porch for the front and steps for the rear. A couple others got the anchors in the (frozen) ground and the insulation and skirting in place. Everyone chipped in and we paid the annual insurance premium. All in all, two days from start to finish.
Today we all hid in the mobile home (along with a decorated Xmass tree) while another couple got them there under some pretext or another and it was on heck of a day! Yeah, they absolutely lost it and there were tears all around. I confess, I had one or two well up myself when I could see the pure joy in my wifes eyes and her own tears. The two kids were estatic at having a room (and home) of their own again, mom and dad simply didn't know what to say except "thank you" and "I can't believe it" about a gazillion times.
Disclosure: The husband said there is no way he can let me just give the mobile home to them and wants to trade some future work for it. I knew that would be his reaction, thats just the kind of fellow he is and I understand his wanting to do it so we'll work something out. I joked and said, "I'm in no hurry, I know where you live".
I've never done anything of this magnitude before or that involved the efforts of so many people but I have to tell you, it's been the most positive experiance since my wedding or the births of my children for me. The best part was when my wife looked deep into me and said, "I've got myself quite a man". I swear it sent shivers down my back. You guys that are like me and measure your marriage in decades know what I am talking about.
Christmas time, a family that has been good friends and neighbors in need, willing hands and generosity to go with it. I ask you, how could it not all come together?! Here is the really amazing part, the people that worked, gave, cleaned, and all the rest seem to feel more blessed than the family recieving the home. I can not remeber when I have seen faces literally beam the way I have today. Not that I am a deeply religious man but there was a measure of grace present I have never really experianced before. Yes, if you can't tell by now, it was a special point in time for me. One I will always treasure and wonder how a guy like me gets so lucky to have family, freinds and neighbors like these.
I've got so much holiday spirit I think I'll go decorate something.
Our neighbors, a couple with a 17 year old boy and a 13 old girl fell on some real hard times after the wife lost her job (waitress and restraunt closed) and the husband has been out of work in his own construction business. (Not much housing construction happening right now.) To make things really horrible, they lost their home in a fire this late summer and apparently the insurance had lapsed for missed/late payment. They have been temporarily living with her parents in a small farm house. They were never a well to do family by any stretch of the imagination and there were little or no svaings to fall back on.
I happened to have a 3 bedroom mobile home I put on the farm a few years ago for my mothyer-in-law to stay during the summers and she passed away three years after putting it in and its been sitting mostly vacant since then. Occasionally we have guests and they stay in it but its not often.
A bunch of my neighbors and I talked and made a plan. We used a four wheel drive tractor and moved (4 miles) the trailer to their property, others got the water, electric, septic in and hooked up. The local propane dealer (MFA) set a fuel tank and filled it. My wife organized the women and cleaned the inside top to bottom including all the furniture, carpets, dishes, absolutely everything. A couple of the farmers and their sons built an 8' x 16' enclosed porch for the front and steps for the rear. A couple others got the anchors in the (frozen) ground and the insulation and skirting in place. Everyone chipped in and we paid the annual insurance premium. All in all, two days from start to finish.
Today we all hid in the mobile home (along with a decorated Xmass tree) while another couple got them there under some pretext or another and it was on heck of a day! Yeah, they absolutely lost it and there were tears all around. I confess, I had one or two well up myself when I could see the pure joy in my wifes eyes and her own tears. The two kids were estatic at having a room (and home) of their own again, mom and dad simply didn't know what to say except "thank you" and "I can't believe it" about a gazillion times.
Disclosure: The husband said there is no way he can let me just give the mobile home to them and wants to trade some future work for it. I knew that would be his reaction, thats just the kind of fellow he is and I understand his wanting to do it so we'll work something out. I joked and said, "I'm in no hurry, I know where you live".
I've never done anything of this magnitude before or that involved the efforts of so many people but I have to tell you, it's been the most positive experiance since my wedding or the births of my children for me. The best part was when my wife looked deep into me and said, "I've got myself quite a man". I swear it sent shivers down my back. You guys that are like me and measure your marriage in decades know what I am talking about.
Christmas time, a family that has been good friends and neighbors in need, willing hands and generosity to go with it. I ask you, how could it not all come together?! Here is the really amazing part, the people that worked, gave, cleaned, and all the rest seem to feel more blessed than the family recieving the home. I can not remeber when I have seen faces literally beam the way I have today. Not that I am a deeply religious man but there was a measure of grace present I have never really experianced before. Yes, if you can't tell by now, it was a special point in time for me. One I will always treasure and wonder how a guy like me gets so lucky to have family, freinds and neighbors like these.
I've got so much holiday spirit I think I'll go decorate something.
