About - Elizabeth Stone

I find peace getting dirty - whether it is in the garden or working on a car.  There's something about putting your all into something, getting completely covered in it, working until you are exhausted and then getting to wash the dirt (and your problems) off at the end of the day. 

I grew up on a decent sized piece of property in the middle of nowhere.  My family had 50 acres split between my mom, her parents and her sister.  My cousins and I had free range of all the property and the state land behind - although we rarely went that far. It was peaceful.  You could hear the cars passing on the main road sometimes - but typically it was just us and the animals. I spent my first 23 years of life there – and had a beautiful baby boy while living out there.  

  

A few years after my son was born, we ended up moving with my best friend and her son to a nearby town.  I remember how close the houses were and I hated it. I always felt like the neighbors were watching us any time we stepped out of the house.  It was especially fun when the neighbor (who's house was just a few feet behind us) took too many drugs one night and stabbed his mom.  Nothing like being woken up in the middle of the night by a blood curdling scream!  The mom was fine and somehow the kids slept through it .

The next house was on 5 acres and that was a little better – although the landlords were right next door and watching EVERYTHING.  Even though it was quieter – it still wasn't private.

We finally found a 3 bedroom, 2 bath in a small town that was absolutely filthy – but also dirt cheap.  I moved in with my son and my boyfriend at the time.  We scrubbed everything, ripped out carpet, and replaced moldy bathroom walls.  It was a lot of work, but we did it. And by we, I really mean I did.  My son helped sometimes – but my ex was not used to doing things with his hands – eventually it was too much and he moved on.  

Which ended up being perfect for me because just a few short years later, I met Joe - and we have not been apart since the day we met. Literally.  He is that awesome.  I have never been happier - probably due to the fact that he has an amazing sense of humor and I find myself laughing all the time.

So now there are 6 of us crammed into this 3 bedroom house at all times.  Our property still isn't private, and our house is way too small for all of us – but the monthly mortgage is cheap, we are very close to schools, and we have neighbors that we love.  For the moment, this is our life – until we can save up enough to buy a chunk of land to call our own. I am not sure how well this will work in the city - but I look forward to finding out!