The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. -Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

March 20, 2022

Denton, Texas. We’ve been here for almost a week, having left Felix at NIRVC in Lewisville on Monday for some work.

‘Here’ is an Airbnb, 3-bedroom trailer at a great location about 17 miles north of Felix that wasn’t overpriced, that allowed pets, and that got relatively great reviews.

‘Here’ is Hickory Creek Mobile Home Park, the latter part of the name being something new to me. I admit I had a slanted view of that type of lifestyle. I never knew anyone who actually lived in a trailer or a trailer park. It just seemed ‘different’ (says the person who’s lived on a boat—twice—-and now an RV.)😄

‘Here’ is the most barebones Airbnb we’ve ever rented. It’s obvious a guy (and, given our communications, a single one at that) owns what is called “Vacation Spot @ the Trailer Park” on the Airbnb website. All of the walls are completely bare, except for a clock whose batteries are dead. There are no towel racks or toilet paper holder in the bathroom, but at one point there had been as evidenced by the holes in the wall.

There are four bath towels, but no hand towels, no wash cloths, no dish towels, and only a partial roll of paper towels. There is only a sponge for washing dishes. For some reason, with the exception of the smoke detector in the bedroom, all others have been removed. On the upside (and what would later be considered a godsend) it’s got a relatively new, commercial-grade Maytag washer and dryer, awkwardly positioned in the hallway.

You may be asking yourself, why did we rent such a place. Quite simply, because of the pups. Having them in a hotel can be such a PITA (my way of saying, “pain in the ass.”) Little did I suspect that being ‘here’ would also be a godsend.

In the middle of the third night here, Biscuit woke me up, and I immediately sensed she had to go out. We both made a beeline for the front door (I forgot to mention that the back door is useless because the storm door shielding it is hanging precariously on one hinge, and would probably break if forced open.) Barely making down the porch steps and onto the grass, I soon heard and then smelled what I suspected to be the problem. Biscuit had diarrhea.

That was three nights ago, and we are still dealing with it. Being the one who volunteered to sleep on the couch with both pups so that I could deal with Biscuit throughout the night, my sleep has been as intermittent as it was when my children were babies. I’ve really had to adjust my thinking about the current situation because it’s quite shitty, excuse my candor.

I am not complaining. I’m being literal.

But it is what it is, and you’ll probably laugh when I tell you this, but right this minute, I am extremely grateful.

I am so grateful we are ‘here.’ For one thing, a store I’d never heard of before, Pet Supermarket, is less than a mile down the road. Two days ago we went there and bought some diarrhea medicine (Pet Pectillen) and a washable doggie diaper. Yesterday we took Biscuit in to be bathed. They have a do-it-yourself doggie wash that’s apparently very popular because we arrived ten minutes after opening and two of the three bays were already occupied. But the best part of Pet Supermarket is their staff. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been as favorably impressed with the staff of any retail store as I was with the staff ‘here.’

The longer this goes on, the more grateful I am that we are ‘here.’ I’m grateful for the conveniences of a deep kitchen sink and that it’s near the front door. Instant hot water. The bright porch light that illumines the night at o’dark:30. A couch large enough for the pups and me to sleep on. A long, long hose that helps wash away telltale poopy stains. The Maytag washer and dryer. And so much more.

What a PITA this would be if we were in a hotel!

Check out is noon tomorrow, regardless of whether or not the work on Felix is done. Hopefully, we’ll see a change for the better in Biscuit’s constitution in the next 24 hours🙏🏽

I’m not even going to speculate on “what ifs.” There are too many of those, more than enough to drive me insane. But like the quote mentioned reminds me, the way I think about things will determine my happiness. So, I just have to focus on the blessings and not the minutia. If we were in a hotel, it would be so much worse!!

I never imagined I’d be happy ‘here,’ but all things considered, I am. Hopefully, you’re happy where you are, too. And if you’re not, maybe my current situation will help you see yours in a different light.

And, if nothing else, Happy 1st day of SPRING!🌷

I’ll write more once we get rolling again. Until then…Peace. Love. And long, long hugs. -Maria♥️