I purchased the camper from a man in the middle of a divorce. He had some remaining items in the camper. Jeff and I followed as he drove the camper from storage to his house to empty what remained of a life he once had. A life with his daughters and wife as a family. Kites they flew into the sky at the beach. S'mores sticks to roast marshmallows over the campfire. Sleeping bags the kids curled up in at night. It was his beginning's end.
Once the camper was officially ours, we cleaned the camper and added our own touch to make it ours. Dog bowls and beds, a painting my mom painted of our trip to the Grand Canyon, clothes, dishes and finishing touches. Our camper was moved onto the back half of our property. We were ready for construction. Our beginning.
Four months into construction and our house was moving forward, rapidly. The exterior was done, roof on, windows in.
On August 23rd we went to Rocklin for my brother's birthday and stayed the night. Monday morning we returned home.
Theodore stopped dead in his tracks about 10 feet from the front door of the trailer barking his little head off. The windows were busted. The door was wide open and a shredded bag of dog food was strewn on the ground before us. Walking through the battered front door was quite a sight. The refrigerator door was open, eggs smashed all over the floor, chocolate pudding decorated the walls along with mashed avocado. Bear blood was on the walls at the windows and doors and glass was everywhere.
We cleaned for the next 8 hours. Picked up the trash, swept the glass. We kept the dogs safe. Loaded the cat into a kennel and drove her to be boarded, where she still is today.
Eventually all of the windows were taped shut, the door locked for the final time and the camper was moved off of our lot.
Insurance would make the repairs.
In the meantime, the man I bought the camper from wanted to buy it back from us. He wanted to rebuild his memories in the camper. We were happy for a buyer and awaited the return of the camper to live in to finish construction and then sell back to the very person we bought it from.
For the next six weeks we camped, lived out of our cars, the cat in the kennel and the dogs at my folks. We jammed everything else into our already over-stuffed storage unit. We ate out breakfast, lunch, dinner (we still do this!) Every waking moment hanging sheetrock or working our jobs for money. Working until exhaustion so that we can get out of our cars and into our house. Understanding and appreciating the feeling of displacement. And very thankful that this would be temporary. Our house was nearing temporary move-in condition.
The first week of October, my insurance agent called to tell me the camper was considered a "total loss." A few days later I went to claim the final items that remained. As I stood in the camper at the wrecking yard I couldn't help but be a bit nostalgic. Standing in the "living room" was once a dream that seemed like a lifetime ago. A few odds and ends remained and one final art piece I had tucked away from my nephew. This was my beginnings end.
