Extreme Makeover: Trailer Edition

I couldn't stop the bullying. But I found another way to help my teenage daughter

- JEANNE CASHMAN

My 14-year-old daughter, Camille, and I stood in the middle of the living area of our new 28-foot trailer and looked around. New to us, I should say. The used Salem RV was mostly functional, but it was showing its age. Dated brown cabinetry and shelving. Beige everywhere else—wallpaper, ceiling, upholstery. And the stench of cigarette smoke permeated everything.

We’d parked the trailer in a small beach town two hours from our house in Raleigh, North Carolina. I’d propped open the door so we could catch the breeze. Although not officially summer yet, it was already 80 degrees. Maybe the fresh air would help with the smell too.

The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown had just been lifted, but Camille and I were still sticking to our pod of two. We were about to embark on the ultimate mother-daughter bonding experience and remodel the trailer ourselves. Visions of Fixer Upper and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ran through my head. Never mind that neither of us had any renovation experience, though Camille had taken a set-building class at school.

With the school year over and me able to do my marketing job remotely, we’d decided to live at the trailer over the summer to tackle some projects. Our first: overhauling the kitchen. “Where do you want to start?” I asked.

“We need to do something about those,” Camille said, pointing to the cabinets and making a face.

I got out our new tool kit and grabbed a pry bar. I wedged it behind a cabinet and used it as a lever. Even though I put all my weight into it, the cabinet didn’t budge. With a utility knife, I widened the crevice between the cabinet and the wall. Then I tried the pry bar again.

“Mom, don’t damage the wall!”