A LIFE LESSON

When I was eight years old, this one room trailer was my home. I remember it well. It was sixteen feet long and six feet wide. If you can’t imagine the size, just look at the photo and use the bicycle for comparison

The year was 1947. My parents decided to leave a rented house plus a large extended family in Pennsylvania and move to South Florida. The post WW II building boom was in full swing. My father was a carpenter, and work was plentiful. One year later, we moved into a 26ft trailer with a larger icebox, stove and sink, plus a folding table for eating. My parents slept on the sofa and I had the tiny bedroom. An awning covered the patio. Bathroom facilities were housed in a building up the road. There was no air conditioning. It was our home for four more years.

The park was small, perhaps thirty trailers. People with large families had inexpensive cabanas attached to the trailers to accommodate their children. Most of our free time was spent playing outdoors. Sleepovers were common, as were shared meals.

There was a bond among the families in that park. Stay-at-home moms watched the children of working mothers. Older children often took care of younger ones. Seniors were looked after as well. I remember running errands for them quite often.

I had very few toys, but I had lots of playmates. With so many children to play with, I was never lonely and rarely bored. We were very creative in our playtimes and we learned to make something out of nothing. We had our squabbles as well, but those were eventually resolved and forgotten. The park had a free movie night outdoors on Fridays. We often stayed long after the movie ended, adults talking and children playing. It was as if the park was our home and our trailers were just places to eat and sleep.

When I was 13, my parents bought a small two bedroom home that felt like a mansion. Although I clearly remember my teen years in the house, I know that those five years in the trailer park has colored the way I see life today.

Since I saw the trailer park experience from a child’s viewpoint, I once asked my mother how it was for her. She said that because there was such concern for one another among the residents and because there was so much cooperation and kindness there, it made the hard times easier.

I now live in a small villa in a family community. Unlike many seniors, I chose not to live in an adult community because I love the family atmosphere. Its mix of race, religion and nationality make it all the richer for me. I don’t place a high value on “things” or want all of the latest gadgets. I am happy with my 7 year old car. Would I like a new one? Of course I would, but I don’t see it in the cards right now, and that’s ok. What I do value and appreciate in my life are my friends, many of whom feel like family.

Life in that park helped me to develop an expanded awareness of our need for one another. I see that evidenced in today’s technological world. Cell phones, computers, and the internet reflect our desire for connection. A kind word, a good deed or a hug are priceless. The Love that develops among family members and friends overshadows everything. We can live without the newest toy, but we can’t live a full and happy life without expressing the Love that we truly are.

As I grow a little older and hopefully a little wiser, I realize more and more how fortunate I am to have those memories. I cherish them all, even the painful ones. I encourage every one to take that journey back in time. Explore the memories with Love, and then let them be. It can be a rich experience, and an enlightening life lesson.

Written for you with Love,

Barbara Rasp


It is a new day, a day to create and a day to celebrate. It is a day to honor your life. I birthed you as a clean canvas of my heart. I ask you now to look at the canvas you have created today. Did you paint it as a beautiful new flower, or is it darkened by time and tragedy. You have a moment-by-moment opportunity to re-create your canvas. You must honor the life you have lived, and know that in my eyes you are innocent. Your trials and struggles need not reflect darkness, for they are truly meant to remind you of your lessons of life and to support your awakening to the Light that you are.

Wisdom’s Voice

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