A new home in crisis

In mid-August, the author moved into her parents' converted single-car garage, a roughly one hundred fifty square foot casita. She had asked for a divorce from her husband and needed to leave their shared home.

Healing a broken relationship

The author's relationship with her parents had been rocky when she left home as a teenager, and she had vowed never to live with them again. But over twenty years, they all changed and grew. She wanted to spend time with them.

Making a tiny space work

The casita is about ten feet by fifteen feet. It holds a bunk bed, a sofa, a kitchenette, a dresser, and a small bathroom. The author has downsized her belongings and is deciding what deserves a spot in the small space.

Privacy and support combined

The casita has an outside entrance and is separate enough from the main house to offer privacy. The author's parents are not charging rent or utilities while she figures out her finances during these transitional months.

Ordinary moments matter most

Most nights, the author eats dinner with her parents. She sits with her dad while he feeds neighborhood kittens that appear each day. When she saw her husband had removed his wedding ring, her parents listened as she cried.

People can change

The author sees the casita as a transitional space and does not know where she will live next. Moving to her childhood home has become one of the kindest parts of an extremely painful time.

Relationship transformed

The author had stopped expecting her relationship with her parents to feel different. Living here has shown her that people can change, on both sides, even after you have given up imagining another version of the relationship.

“people can change, on both sides, even after you've given up imagining another version of the relationship”