A Day in the Trailer

It's been a while since I've shared about life in the trailer.  Several friends have expressed interest in what a day in the life of a family of six living in a fifth-wheel looks like.  This is what it looks like:

The alarm on my phone quietly sounds, loud enough to get my eyes open but muffled enough to keep four little pairs of eyes closed.

The pocket door to separate our little room from the rest of the trailer rolls shut and I get some reading in before those four little pairs of eyes begin to open.

Everyone's up.  A thick layer of dew is on the windows, but the sun is out for the first time in a week!  It's time to fold the blankets, stuff the bedding in the cabinets above the table, and fold four small beds back into four small chairs.

Music is on now.  Today, we started off with Narnia and The Lord of the Rings soundtracks mixed with some Misty Edwards.  Ear candy.  It was quite the tasty mixture.

Breakfast time.  While Jer and the kids finish putting the bedding away, I scramble some cheesy eggs, slice the last of the season's cherry tomatoes, and cut wedges of zucchini bread I made the night before.

Tea is steeping for everyone: herbal orange spice for the children and strong Irish Breakfast for Jer and I.

Breakfast is eaten, dishes taken to the sink, teeth and hair brushed, and the kids chomp by the door to get some of that warm sun.  Out they go, to bounce on the soggy trampoline.

I finish breakfast clean-up and remember to start some sourdough.

Kids are called in and lessons begin.

6 and 8-year-olds race to see who can finish their math lessons first while I teach 5-year-old a reading lesson while 2-year-old listens in (she's catching on and it's crazy to watch).

Math, writing, grammar, spelling, history, and phonics today.  Done and done.

Lunchtime.  Smoothies and sandwiches are on the menu.

We chat about what everyone learned today, everyone's done eating before I know it, and it's time to scrub more dishes.

Mom can we pleeeease go outside now?

Oh yes.  Please do.

Out they romp with their neighbor friends.  I stay inside to prepare for tomorrow's lessons and form two loaves of sourdough that's been rising all day.  It won't be ready for dinner; I started it too late.  Oops.

I step outside and have a nice chat with my neighbor friend before heading into their house to get my laundry.

Back into the trailer.

Fold, fold, fold.  Hang, stuff, quickly shut cabinet doors before something spills out.

I blink twice and it's time to make dinner.  Wha?!

Kids reluctantly come inside, clean up, and have some quiet time.  It's cool outside now, but the trailer warms up and begins to smell like food.  Stuffed acorn squash, parmesan basil sourdough bread from a friend, and raw apple sauce with lots of cinnamon is carried over next door to share with our sweet neighbors.  

Children scarf it down as fast as they can to get one last play in with friends while parents try to steal a few minutes to connect and chat a little.

I shove the sourdough loaves in the oven.

Nighttime routines commence.

Baths begin, dishes get scrubbed while I dream of having a dishwasher again, floors are vacuumed, and the chairs unfold back into beds.

I pull the less-than-pretty loaves out of the tiny oven.  You can definitely tell they were done in a hurry, but they'll work just fine for tomorrow's French toast and sandwiches.

8-year-old reads the Toddler Bible to 2-year-old while 6-year-old works on his war drawing and 5-year-old narrates her day like the book we just read, and I giggle and feel warm inside, even in this tiny trailer.

Jer and I do devotions with the kids, we pray, we sing the goodnight song, give the day's last hugs and kisses, and shut the pocket door to our little nook of a bedroom.

He researches appliances for our cabin, I blog.

And now.... Well, that's all you need to know.

Goodnight, world!

 ~Read the archives of this journey here.~

I'm sharing this at Gratituesday.