Rock Bottom
(the only way is UP !)
2013 was my worst year ever! I found myself house and cat sitting at my then ex boyfriend’s place, working in a call centre for 5 days a week for a measly $500! My son was staying with a friend until I could figure out a way we could live on our own sustainably and independently.
Shit really hit the fan when my ex came home and told me he met someone and I had to move on. I couldn’t see how a job bringing in only $500 per week, would allow me to support myself and my son. Something had to give and both my son and I fell through the cracks with a thud! I wound up back in my hometown, my son tried to make things work in Melbourne by couch surfing. Neither of us were stable and were essentially homeless.
Can we do it ? Yes we Can !
All this happened much sooner than I had anticipated and was the exact thing I was trying to avoid hence why I knew I had to find an alternative way to survive and fast…. But not fast enough! By 2014 I found myself at the mercy of others, this time, my Aunty and Uncle and a few months later at my cousins, before finally back at home with my mum. It was there that I would start to find my feet again.
During this time I also remembered those things called “Tiny Houses” and was in a position to save! I managed to get a job at a Motel as a Receptionist, which only lasted the duration of the 3 month trial before they stopped giving me shifts. I found another job at a Retirement Village, this time on a 6 month contract, but I made sure I had my bases covered by putting my name down for a job, at the local Fruit Processing Plant. In the end, I wound up working both jobs, night shift at the cannery practically 7 nights a week and 4 days at the Retirement Village with little sleep in between! Yes this hurt. I simply bared the pain from my Psoriatic Arthritis, took my medication, and kept telling myself it was only temporary and managed to put away $20,000 !
Can you believe that I even met a wonderful man I still call my partner today! As fate would have it, he ran an Australian Tiny House Community on Facebook called “Tiny Houses Australia”. I had no intention of dating ever again! I was so determined to make it on my own and stand on my own two stubborn feet! But as they say, love happens when you least expect it.
I remember sitting up in bed, wondering if there was anyone here in Australia building a tiny house, if there was a community that I could learn from. So I typed in “Tiny Houses Australia” and wouldn't you know it… there it was, a group of like minded people, albeit small in number at the time but with a wealth of information and knowledge! It gave me the resources I needed to start designing my own Tiny House. First on paper, then on Sketchup and then a scale model made of balsa wood. All this I ended up sharing on my own Tiny House Page, My Tiny Dream and shared it to the Tiny Houses Australia Facebook Group. And that is where he found me, stalked me, facebook friended me, and ultimately … got me. The rest is history.
Looking back, I have no idea how I managed to work two jobs, design my Tiny House, undertake all the necessary research AND start dating! I guess when you find yourself at rock bottom there really is only one way to go and that is UP!
