They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. We all know that’s easier said than done, but nothing is truly impossible when we set our minds to it and put in a lot of effort to achieve it.
Cara Brookins found herself in a violent marriage. She left her husband, took her children, and started anew in a new home because she was a mother of five and understood she needed to protect her children from the toxic environment they were living in. How did she manage?
She created her own building plans and watched YouTube videos demonstrating various building skills, such as installing plumbing, laying gas lines, laying a foundation, and erecting walls.
It sounds amazing, doesn’t it?
Now, as she reflects on it, she realizes it was impossible all along.
Cara, a computer programmer analyst, came up with the idea of building her family’s new home from scratch because she couldn’t afford a large enough one for all her children at the time when she started construction in 2007.
Cara described the feeling as « if someone else were in our situation, they would do it. » « I know it sounds crazy now, but no one else saw it that way. »
She borrowed about $150,000 for construction and paid $20,000 for an acre of land.
Her children helped build their 3,500-square-foot house; the oldest was only two years old at the time, and the youngest was seventeen.
Since there was no running water on the property, her eleven-year-old daughter Jada had to use buckets to carry water from the neighbor’s pond. Her son Drew helped her create the plans.
After that, she mixed it with eighty-pound bags of concrete to make the foundation mortar.
The children visited the construction site every day after school and helped out. This tough mother paid a part-time firefighter with construction knowledge $25 an hour to tackle the toughest tasks. He was « one step ahead in terms of knowledge, » she recalled.
The family finally moved into Inkwell Manor on March 31, 2009, named in honor of Cara’s aspiration to become a writer.
« We felt ashamed that the only option available to us was to build our own home, » Cara remarked. « We weren’t particularly proud of it, but it turned out to be the best thing I could do for myself. »
« Anything is possible for you when I, a 110-pound computer programmer, can build an entire house, » she exclaimed.
She continued, « Pick a goal and stick with it.
Choose a big project you’ve always wanted to do, start small, and take others with you who also need to recover.
That has enormous power.
Isn’t this one of the most amazing stories you’ve heard lately?
If the resilience of this family inspires you as much as it does me, then SHARE their amazing story on Facebook with your loved ones!