I’m homeless.

Strike that. I own a home. It’s a just bit disheveled at the moment due to a “pop up” hail storm last year. That and the fact that the storm gave me the perfect excuse to rip off the back of the house. An awning that looked like a meth addict’s front teeth, a holey roof, coordinating holey siding and eight destroyed windows. Opportunity pounded at my door. Although technically, “opportunity” destroyed my classic 1950’s Sears aluminum awning. A momentary sadness set in until visions of an office, powder bath, and a beautiful new dishwasher danced through my dreams. So, I can’t live in my house right now because it doesn’t have the things necessary for survival in modern society. Things like running water and bathrooms. Luckily, I have friends that are willing to take in a shiftless wanderer like me.

I’ve come to call them my seasonal roommates. I don’t want to overstay my welcome, as they have plans, family obligations, etc. I stay several weeks and move on to the next welcoming guest room. If I had to, I could make the sacrifices necessary in my expenses to rent a temporary residence during this time. I understand minimalism in ways that others do not see in me. I can survive. I will survive. I have been raised to be independent, and I am. I do not ask of others, even when I am in need. But here are friends, some known for only a short time, who are generous and open. In the midst of their own lives, they have welcomed me into their homes and have asked nothing in return. How can that be? We are all financially capable people. We are each strong and independent personalities, but they have brought me in as if family.

I can only ask myself how in any way I have deserved such generosity. A brief image of a bookie’s debit column flashes in my mind, but I shake it off because that idea is wrong. As humans we are wired to be doubtful, superstitious creatures. We seek explanation, as I do in this moment of my life. But do we need answers? In the face of such kindness, the only things I see are beautiful minds and open hearts.