Long, life update. Buckle in!
Like so many families in 2020, this past year really got us thinking about what mattered most to our family. We spent a lot of time (last year specifically) in our travel trailer (The Rainmaker) exploring, adventuring, and relaxing. We played board games, ate s'mores, saw new things, rode bikes, went on hikes... we even worked and did school from the trailer from various locations on the East Coast. Every time we got back to the house we felt burdened and heavy. We all dreaded coming home. I don't know if it's because the house is so huge, or we have so much stuff, or it just meant we were all going to be sedentary until the next trip... but it was a feeling we collectively experienced every time we returned home that couldn't be ignored.
The long term dream has always been to move into an RV. For years now, Mike and I have been analyzing fifth wheels. A fun night for us was to huddle around the TV and chat about RVs in youtube videos, remarking about what would never work for this family of four, and possibilities of what could. It had to have (x,y,z), it couldn't have (a,b,c) -- and man, what if - ONE DAY - we could afford our dream trailer and have it custom built?! What would it NEED to have to get us to jump into full time living?
Saving for the dream trailer became our mission. And over the last year we saved enough to make it possible.
Logically, I know that we aren't going to be living the vacation life. I know that we aren't going to be campfire-and-s'mores-every-night people. We all know that not every weekend will be hiking or bike riding. I know that we are going to be living REAL SMALL for a LONG TIME. Logically, it makes sense to me that we will all want to strangle one another frequently; we'll be all up in each other's biz too much, and that the need for privacy will become REAL at some point. I recognize that we are signing up for challenges, and we still could fall into living a sedentary life (just in a much smaller space). Yep, I get that. We all do. It makes perfect sense and we can see all of this playing out.
Emotionally, I know we are ready for this. We are a close family and always down for an adventure. The kids, who have begged us to transition to full time RV living, are very much involved in decision making and family meetings. We presently live in a huge house, but in all of this house we all really live in 3 rooms... and all together. Adventures may be few at first living in this RV, but they are more of a possibility and reality than they are living in sticks-and-bricks (a house). We have like 4-5 years left until Brennan decides to go fly on his own, and these precious years of family adventures and memory building are so, so important to us all. Being able to just pick up and change the scenery a little here and there is a refresh button we are very lucky to be able to press from time to time.
And so, last night we put our deposit down on the next leg of our family adventure. We don't know where the Coast Guard is sending us just yet, but we're excited and ready to do it together.
Now, as for the epic yard sales we have to have to down size this crazy house to basically nothing? All I can say is: send help.
Brand: Luxe Model: 44FB (Toy Hauler) Exterior Colors: To Be Determined (but definitely with this red to match Mike's truck, "Jarvis") Next Duty Station: Wherever the Coast Guard sends us
Follow us on our journey by subscribing to our youtube channel: www.youtube.com/hoppinandgo
and following our instagram: www.instagram.com/hoppinandgo
(Those wondering how I'm going to work from this monster... I'm planning to get an enclosed cargo trailer to hold our board games and my stamping supplies We are going to be outfitting it so I can work from my mini-mobile command station )