Gratitude #4 - home

Since I was on my way to the bookmobile anyway and walking by the office, I paid my rent a couple days early. I own my trailer but rent my land. As I made out the check, I felt grateful not only that my landlord doesn't raise the rent much, but that he created such a safe, beautiful and affordable place to live. (The other trailer parks I looked at were all seedy. This one looks like a vacation property.)

Moving out of Chicago, where rents kept going up and quality of life kept going down, was a deliberate decision. I reasoned that staying there would only ensure that I would feel tethered to a day-job when what I wanted to do was write. I came up with a 5-year plan to live somewhere dirt cheap while I lived frugally and got my writing business going. And yeah, the 5-year plan took 10 years...but I honestly don't regret that. In a way, it's that much sweeter, because I know I persevered. Just because things might take longer than you hope they will doesn't mean you should quit. They're still worth doing!