Tonight Anthony and I sat at the dinner table. Leftover bowls strewn about from kids who forgot to put them in the sink after they were excused. We sat talking about our upcoming adventure. What we were keeping, what was going in storage, when we should give housing our notice. I looked at Anthony at one point and finally asked the question I had been wanting to ask. "Do you ever wonder why we are doing this and kind of freak out?" He just laughed relieved and responded in a way that made me feel much better "Yeah. Actually, the other night I sat looking at the house after coming back from the trailer and just marveled at the walls. Actual walls and door frames. I thought, "what are we doing?"
We had a good laugh, happy that we both had thought it. So why are we doing this? Why on earth are we putting our family of 6, a dog and possibly a fish in a rolling hallway. Well, in short. Why not? The kids are young, we have so much we want to see, we don't need a lot to be happy, and the kids are actually down to do it. There will be a time when having 4 teens in a trailer just won't work. They are growing up and will have a social system all their own soon that they won't want to leave. High school will be intense, and honestly I just don't know what the future holds, but I know right now it works.
As a family, we aren't really attached to much. We value God, each other, the people in our lives, and experiencing life. As a military family, home is wherever we call home, and we are good at making friends anywhere. So much so, that we have them EVERYWHERE, and we miss them. For us, we aren't losing anything, but just doing life a little differently. We do not make any fantasies about what we are about to embark on. We are hit with realities everyday that make us question this "adventure". Like today when I threw more than 10 loads of laundry on my bed and took time folding and putting away each one. That ain't happening anymore! Or when I stood the other night in the shower forever just enjoying the endless amount of hot water. Nope, gone. It goes on and on. But oh well, it is only temporary, and it will end at some point.
I have always loved to be on the move. As a kid, I was always finding ways to get out and go. At 8 I went to Florida to stay with my grandparents all by myself. My first alone flight. Then at 10 I wanted to go to Alaska to see my sister Chrissy. Then I went again when I was 12. I went to Illinois twice to visit my other sister Cathy. I loved it! I loved traveling, seeing new places, being on the move. I am still like this. It is in my blood.
I grew up thinking that I wanted the typical normal white picket fence life. I wanted 3 kids and to be a teacher. I am pretty close to that now actually, with one extra beautiful exception :O) However, when we moved to Utah and started talking about buying a house and finally settling down, I got this feeling of being trapped. It wasn't expected, and I fought against the feelings for awhile. Then one day Anthony asked if I still thought about RVing, and if it was something I would ever want to do? See I had brought the idea up to him first when we were moving from Alaska and traveling to the lower 48. We almost did it then, but he had doubts and decided not to.
I wasn't prepared for him to move so fast, but I told him YES! That was it. Now I have a huge truck, fifth wheel and 2 months left in my house. The kids are super excited. So far they only have good things to say about it, and can't wait to hit the road. Bear asks us everyday if it is time to go camping and fishing. Now we just need to get all the manuals from the trailer and figure out what the heck we are doing!
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