EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A SHACK!

Everyone Should Have A Shack......

Well, it is hard to admit that I live here in this purple shack most of the time, even though I have a beautiful home on the mountain with million dollar views of three mountain ranges and Canyonlands.

Two years ago we recognized that Max was becoming a teenager who did not want to live in isolation on the mountain. We found that between seminary, football and debate, we were practically living at my office and even spending nights in motels. We'd sometimes get home to the mountain house at 11 pm and get up to head back to town as early as 6 am. It just was not working.

Real estate prices were skyrocketing, and there was nothing available to buy in downtown Moab. We looked for a "crash pad" for months as the real estate market went completely out of sight. Anything near $200k was gone in a day. I finally put an ad in the newspaper for a "fixer upper". No response for three weeks. One day I got a call, came and looked at the shack, and we took the plunge and bought it. You should have seen -- or even better - should have SMELLED this dump. It was completely overgrown with weeds, peeling paint, leaking everything, cement floors, roaches and a complete and total putrid disaster. But the price was right - for that time - and we felt kind of lucky getting it -- l/5 of an acre, and only four blocks from the office downtown. The bargain basement price was $165K.

We closed in three weeks and the appraisal came in at $185K. Then the heartburn began. We got the tractor and cleaned up the yard and ripped everything out of the inside. It took three dump trucks to get rid of the crap. Then over the next three months we started over. We installed all new kitchen, bathroom, hardwood floors and painted it a whimsical purple and green. We dumped money into this joint faster than Grandma used to feed the slot machines in Vegas -- all new furniture, local art work, funky tiled kitchen and bathroom, flat screened tv, etc. When we were finally exhausted and out of money, we found out that the sewer pipes had rotted, and the house was sitting on a lake of literal "shit". So, we had to dig under the house and have the whole sewer line replaced all the way to the street. Cha-ching, cha-ching. That took care of the smell and our last dime at the same time.

After we'd sunk a fortune into this shack the real estate market and economy crashed. We were left with one of the most expensive shacks on the planet. In deep gratitude for our sacrifice of time and money to create a better life for our spoiled teenager, Max says it "I hate this place, it looks like it was painted by Pixies" (true).

Funny thing is this. I love, love, love it here. The inside is simple, comfy, feminine, and most important -- super small, uncluttered and easy to clean. With my insane, demanding and stressful life, this is one thing that is really "manageable". It does not overwhelm me and send me into a panic like the big house and the increasingly impossible demands of my job. Yup, the shack is the one thing I am able to manage and keep in order. The big drawback is that I really, really miss David. He spends most nights on the mountain taking care of the dogs, yard and house there. I get up there about twice a month.

I feel on the cusp of something -- like maybe a new era is dawning. A time to simplify my life and get rid of all the "things" that are weighing me down like heavy chains. I'm a "vintage" woman. My dreams are passing me by because I am too busy to be present in my own life. What do I really want? I want to work part time, ride my cute bicycle around town, go to pilates twice a day, work on family history, go to the temple once a week, join a book club, meditate, do water aerobics, find a creative outlet, go "adventuring" spontaneously whenever I want, spend time with my wonderful husband and sleep until 9 am every day. Someday soon it will be time for ME. And this little shack is just fine, thank you!