Think Big, Live Tiny - Part 4

The Introduction

At the risk of anthropomorphizing, I look over at MacKenzie, sitting next to me in the backseat of Bronwen and Micky’s car, and think she looks uncannily human. Her ears are perked and she’s looking forward through the windshield, occasionally tracking something through the side window. I reach over to pet her and she becomes a dog again, ears softening and eyes looking adoringly at me. Then she licks my hand and returns to her vigil as if we will get lost without her assistance. I love you Mom, but I have a job to do here.

We’re headed to a suburban neighborhood in Waimea, a one-hour drive from Kona, to meet the two women owners of Habitats Hawaii. Johanna, a licensed builder, emanates a no-nonsense earthiness, while Barrie, who will help with design, floats towards us in a silky dress, reeking of Goddess.

I’m doing my best to pay attention as we go through introductions, but my toes are tapping, all ten of them. I’m on a mission, I’ll get-to-know-you later. We walk around the side of the house to the backyard and there she is!

I am star-struck as soon as I lay eyes upon her. Geometrically-clever paving stones inlaid in the grass, lead to an adorable, gingerbread house. The steeply sloped, A-frame roof sits atop a perfectly proportioned little home, complete with a bay window lined with flower boxes filled with a colorful assortment of geraniums. I can’t help but think that those flowers would probably be limp and surrounded by curling, yellow leaves if they were left to my care.

There is even a little fenced enclosure off to the side, with an equally adorable chicken coop, home to four big, fluffy, yellow hens pecking at the ground contentedly. Every detail has been attended to. Sunlight sparkles off the windows and I could swear I hear a heavenly host of angels singing quietly.

I suddenly realize that Johanna is talking – I have missed everything she has been saying. I was absorbed with the crystal clarity that comes from being completely in the Now, where everything else falls away for a moment in time. In this stillness, I am soaking up the ‘rightness’ of this place.

Johanna opens the door and Micky and Bronwen enter first making appropriately agreeable sounds. I stay outside for a long moment looking dreamily at the chickens. They make happy little clucking, chirping noises as they look for insects in the grass. Huh, I hadn’t thought of chickens. An idea is born – I’ll tuck that away for later. I take in the flower beds surrounding the home in front of the white lattice that cleverly hides the wheels – again I sigh, only plants that thrive on benign neglect survive at my house. I slowly climb the two steps leading to the front door.

I enter and look to the right. A large seating area has been built into the bay window with a beautiful octagonal table in front. To the left, a kitchen takes up half of the interior space. There is a two-burner stove but no oven, a dorm-size fridge, and a double sink all laid out in beautiful wood cabinets with an L-shaped countertop. In the far corner is a small door leading to a bathroom complete with a shower, a sink, and a composting toilet, that looks remarkably like a real toilet. One can always pretend.

One detail I take in, but will need to chew on, is that the bathroom is so tiny, that the shower when operating will drench the entire room with water. This design I find out later, is common in RVs also. While it is built for this express purpose, I can’t help but wonder at the potential pitfalls and having to wipe everything down after a shower.

The queen-size bed is in a sleeping loft, accessed by a ladder that can be put away when not in use. Between the bathroom and the ladder, there is even a little desk nook. With a few adjustments, I could totally see myself living here. How is MacKenzie going to climb that ladder though?

I turn to Johanna and say; “I want one.”