This is the true story... of six people... forced to live in 180 square feet... eat, sleep and play together for five days... and find out what happens... when the juice boxes run out... and no one has a car large enough to carry them... when they are forced to share... and be real (really quiet)... The Real World Nelli-June Edition
I recently had this experience due to a car malfunction near Charlotte, North Carolina. It doesn't get more real than being stranded on the side of the interstate with four kids, a police officer, a mechanic, and a taxi driver while waiting on your husband because there isn't a cab in Charlotte that will accommodate four car seats legally. However, that was just the beginning. The stress started upon arrival to the hotel.
The hotel room was a micro studio suite. Walls were a taupe stucco and the floor a speckled burgundy. The bed a full sized hard mattress topped with a polyester quilt that matched the exact design of the carpet. A single portrait of a nicer location hung above the orange paneled headboard. No curtains surrounded the windows, instead they were covered by cream aluminum mini blinds. However, benefiting the drab room was a small kitchenette complete with a full sized bright white refrigerator. The kitchen sink sat directly across from a small poorly lit bathroom. The room boast all the comforts of home crammed into a closet. Overall, this suite was not a bad choice for the money. Nor was it a bad choice for the man who normally occupied it by himself. However, for the next five days, it was destined to be the stage for the Real World Nelli-June Edition. My family of six were now sharing a space one tenth what we were accustomed to.
The kids and I spent five days and four nights cramped in the tiny room, with my husband joining us after work each night. At exactly ten every night an elephant and hippo danced above us reenacting a scene from Fantasia. My days were spent constantly urging the kids to be quiet, my voice just short of a yell. When the kids were not complaining,fighting or laughing really loud, they could still be heard from the laundry room down the hall. Thumbs were slammed in doors and training pants were soiled as we tried to share one bathroom. The kids had a video game, two Barbies and a dollhouse between the four of them. They occupied their time watching cartoons and fighting. I occupied my time urging them to be nice and forcing them to participate in exercises that I once saw on a prison documentary. At one point I remember thinking, that it wasn't so bad. I had heat, food, water. The kids had sleeping bags and pillows. Really we did have all the comforts of home. We managed to get out and play two times during the day and we had a volunteer drive half of us so we could go to dinner one night.
The producers at MTV had a great idea twenty years ago with the television show, “The Real World.” Perfect strangers in a house living together and sharing space is a recipe for drama. Four kids ages seven, five, three and two living in one room with their parents yields a lot of drama as well. I am convinced that Dante forgot a circle of hell in his Inferno, where six sinners are forced into a small brown closet with a TV that only plays children's programming. Yet I emerged sane and believe that we are a closer knit family because of our time spent together. I observed new incites to each of my family member's personalities. I learned a lot about self control. There were many tears, a bit of laughter, and lots of personal growth. Toys were shared, thumbs healed, kisses were given. We learned to appreciate and value the simple things such as a grassy hill to run down and once again perspective was found.
