As they say, “make lemonade when life gives you lemons.” We are all well aware that this is easier said than done, but the reality is that anything is possible if we set our minds to it and work hard for it.
Cara Brookins ended up in a violent marriage. Being a mother of five, she left her husband, took her kids with her, and started over in a new house because she knew she had to protect them from the poisonous environment they were forced to live in. How did she do it? She learned how to lay a foundation, build a wall, run a gas line, install plumbing, and other building techniques by creating her own construction plans and watching YouTube videos. It sounds amazing, doesn’t it?
Now that she’s given it some thought, she acknowledges that it does appear impossible throughout.
Cara, a computer programmer analyst, came up with the idea to build her family’s new home from the ground up in 2007 because she couldn’t afford to buy a house that would be comfortable for all of her kids during that time.
“If anyone were in our shoes, they would do this,” Cara remarked. “I realize now that it sounds crazy, but no one else saw it like this.”
She obtained a construction loan of about $150,000 and paid $20,000 for a one-acre plot of land.
Her children helped build their 3,500-square-foot home; the eldest was 17 at the time, and the youngest was only 2.
Since there was no running water on the property, 11-year-old Jada used buckets to carry water from the neighbor’s pond while her son Drew assisted her in creating the plans. She then created the foundation mortar by combining it with 80-pound bags of concrete.
The children would visit the location and assist each day after school. This tenacious mother paid $25 per hour to a part-time firefighter with building experience to handle the most difficult tasks. She remembered, “He was a step ahead of us in terms of knowledge.”
The family finally relocated to the Inkwell Manor, which bears Cara’s dream of becoming a writer, on March 31, 2009.
“We were ashamed that our only option was to construct our own shelter,” Cara remarked. “We weren’t particularly proud of it, but it ended up being the best thing I could have done for myself.”
As a 110-pound computer programmer, she asserted, “you can accomplish anything you set your mind to if I can build a whole house.”
“Decide on a single aim and stick to it,” she continued. You should identify the big thing you want to do, start small, and take people who need to heal with you. That has a great deal of power.
Isn’t this among the most amazing tales you’ve heard recently?
