I now know why the terms “cabin fever” and “spring house cleaning” exist. Somedays I feel trapped inside our little camper by the never-ending mud! Cabin fever = camper fever. Get me out! Spring house cleaning? No way! There is no use cleaning before the snow stops flying, or in this case the mud stops sticking. This is by far the worst the winter we’ve had out here so far. It hasn’t even been that bad, but I’m so spoiled by the usual winters where it snows one day, melts and dries the next that this seems so hard.

We have had a good amount of snow and with some of the storms the wind drifted the snow up, so now as the temperatures reach the high 30’s we have a never-ending supply of mud. Our dirt is mainly adobe, which when mixed with water is like grease, and it sticks to everything it touches.

Did I mention I’m not a fan? Two years ago, we had some mud and had to park on the west side by our son’s camper and hike over to ours. We thought we were set since we got a load of gravel all the way up the drive practically to our front door, nope, nada, not this year. The ground is so soft, even the gravel areas are sinking.

We have mud outside and mud inside. Anytime the dogs come in, we have big chunks of it all over the camper. Poor Dave works out in it every day, so he brings in a fair amount himself. I have mud shoes, car shoes, town shoes and plain old snow boots. I’m all set. If I could just get out the door.

I’m really trying hard not to complain. I just have to be more organized to get things done, (like load the laundry in the car) before the ground thaws out in the morning.

The other day I got it all loaded and back on the road headed out. I thought I might hit the laundromat after church, then I realized I needed to get it done and back here before the snow started melting for the day. I still had some slippery roads coming back home.

I would never admit to my hubby that I kind of like it when I hit those muddy parts going full speed and splashing muddy water clear up on the windshield. The part I hate is thinking about how much it will cost us to fix all of those ruts and replace all the rocks and gravel that have disappeared into neverland.

I made a pathway to be able to hike out to the driveway. I used pizza boxes and rocks, then by the next morning freeze I hiked over to our tire supply to pick up a few smaller tires to make a walk-way. It worked better in my mind than it did in real life, but at least I haven’t had to sink up to my ankles in the mud or slip and end up with an indentation the size of my derriere on the path.

So far, no official update about the solar array that is to be put in. One of our neighbors reported that she had been in contact with the company and told them we were all planning on putting in tall trees around where they were going to construct the cancerous tumor on the property next door. We have decided to berm up the ground and then plant trees, just for good measure.

We have been looking into possibly buying a house, fixing it up and then re-selling to fund our build. We made an offer on a little house about 5 or 6 miles from here, but they were insulted by our offer and refused it. We weren’t upset and are still looking. Real estate in this area is still outrageous and so we will be patient and wait for just the right property to purchase and fix up.

Even though our life isn’t easy, we try to remain thankful and hopeful for a brighter future. We get impatient, but I think that is one of the lessons we are learning in doing this. We must do whatever we need to do to succeed and never give up. We have been conditioned to think if we don’t have what we want immediately, we have failed and to just give up. Fortunately, we don’t get too far down at the same time. That way we can boost the other up when we need it. Summer is hard for me, and Winter is hard for Dave, but God is by our side and he loves us unconditionally. He has given us the greatest gift of all, the gift of his son and his love. All of these other things are just momentary distractions and don’t really mean much in the big scheme of things.

So, in a world of chaos and disappointment, (and mud) keep your eyes on the true prize of love.

Philippians 3:13-14 “…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”