Do you have a friend who seems to live an impossible life on social media? For me, that’s my friends Justin Smith and Melissa Smith. The couple has hiked from Mexico to Canada, cycled through Portugal and kayaked through Norway. When they’re home, they’re either building their own furniture, running marathons or making vegan food from scratch.
![Melissa Smith (L) and Justin Smith (R) on Segla Peak in Norway during a kayaking adventure](https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/12/2.2-800x763.jpg)
That intrepid lifestyle got Justin and Melissa onto the television show “Tiny House Nation” in 2015. The reality show built them a 128-square-foot house on wheels, an upgrade after living out of the trunk of Justin’s car. Their nomadic way of life is a choice: For these two, home has always been the backcountry.
As public school teachers, Justin and Melissa’s housing options were somewhat limited. But while they could have afforded something bigger, they saw their tiny house as an extension of their anti-materialist ethos. They parked their house in a trailer park in Folsom, near Sacramento.
“We just want to travel and explore, and we have, like, a fear of locking down to a mortgage,” said Melissa. “It's really nice not to have that.”
That all began to change when Melissa learned she was pregnant. The couple was determined to raise their kid in the tiny house.
![Melissa and Justin Smith live in a 128-square-foot tiny home in Folsom, CA.](https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/12/5.2-800x607.jpg)
Had they prepared? Kinda.
“In the making of the tiny house we were just like, ‘Oh, we’ll just figure that out when it comes,’ ” said Justin.
Justin began converting a shoe rack into a diaper-changing station. They freed up some space in the kitchen to make natural baby food. And the couple planned on using cloth diapers – and washing the diapers themselves – in the same washer-dryer that they use for their own clothes.
If you’re thinking this plan is impractical, you’re not alone. All of our mutual friends had opinions. Depending on who you asked, Justin and Melissa were either planning a back-to-the-land tree-hugger paradise or a claustrophobic nightmare, with little baby Tarzan swinging around on a rope made from cloth diapers.
Fred Dreier, a college friend of Justin, has a theory: With all that time spent living in cars and tents and the tiny house, Justin and Melissa have adapted communication tools that many other couples don’t have. For one, they talk constantly, because they don’t have a TV.
“If any couple could make it work in a tiny house with a baby, it’s Justin and Melissa,” said Dreier.
Every night, Justin and Melissa play a game they call “Happy Silly Sad.” They recount the day’s highs, lows and silliest moments. Melissa usually starts.
“Hey Justin, what was your happy silly sad today?”