Sunday, May 4, 2014

Answering "Those" Questions

How can you leave your home? Where will you live when you're done camping? Won't you miss your real bed/shower/washer/tv/home/everything you have in those old boxes????? What about family and friends? How will you celebrate the holidays? 

Why?

We are fortunate to have a lot of support from our family and friends, but we've gotten all of these questions and more about our decision to RV full-time. Even some of the supporters have a hard time wrapping their head around not having a house to "come back to." Snowbirds have been around for a long time. My dad was a snowbird for years. My mom lived in Tucson and "dreaded" the increased traffic in the winter. Traveling for long stretches of time, and then "coming home" for at least a few months is not uncommon. It's normal, mainstream, acceptable retiree behaviour. That's not the only reason it's not for us.

I don't do well with "sameness". Including childhood, the longest I lived in one place was eight years and that was just before I moved in with Bill a few years ago. Although I worked at the same organization for 26 years, I changed positions and locations at least every three years, and usually more often. My boys grew up expecting the furniture to be rearranged when they got home from school. Sometimes rooms changed purpose, with the dining and living rooms changing places, etc. I think they had an agreement with the neighbors to call them at school if a moving van showed up while they were gone. I would never......

Bill lived in the same place from 5th through 12th grade, but after that his address changed every five years or less. Most of the places he remembers living (a whole separate story). He may not thrive on change the way I do, but he is comfortable with it. He loves new places and new experiences.

Our sons don't have a single "family home" with their names in the patio floor or old forts they built. They had those things in different homes throughout their growing up, but they're not at the house we live in now. Wonderful memories of holidays and growing up include the house we lived in at the time, but the house is the container, not the memory.

So when we leave this house, our memories of our time here will go with us. As they always have. We won't leave our home. We will take our home with us - literally. The sense of freedom I get every time I say that is exhilarating! Not being tied down to a stationary piece of land with a house and yard filled with maintenance and upgrades and taxes and utilities and - you get it. We have no desire to continue any of that, and we may never return to this lifestyle. We have no exit plan. Hell, we're still anxious to get through the entrance!

We are leaving in our home. We will be living in our home. The "real" bed and washer/dryer and tv(s) and kitchen are in our real home. The real shower is still questionable, and it is on the short list of things we expect to miss. Consistent high-speed Internet is on there too. It's a short list. It's much shorter than the list of things we know we won't miss!

With moving comes purging so we don't have a huge amount of accumulated "stuff". We do have stuff. In boxes. Important stuff that has survived all those multiple move/purges. It has passed the "should I/we?" test before. It needs to go now. The few family art and furniture pieces are more difficult.

Originally there was a storage pod in our plans, and everyday I move further away from keeping it.  We have time. I can drive away happy whether there's a pod stored somewhere or not.

We have lots of mutual friends. We have some individual friends. They don't live near us. Weird. True. Getting on the road will give us time with friends we seldom get to see now, and we are so looking forward to that. All but one of our sons live here in SoCal, but that can change at any time. For now we plan to return for some, but not all, holidays. With the exception of Thanksgiving (big dinner and football) and Christmas (tree, stockings, big dinner, football), we are not traditional holiday-celebrators. Last Easter morning (last month) we were at a casino breakfast buffet with a dozen friends from high school, and spent the day playing in the desert. Sounds about right for holidays in our new life.

When I try to think of a better way to spend "the rest of our life" I can't come up with anything. In our travels through Napa and Lake Counties last month we saw beautiful mansion-sized homes sitting on acres of vineyards and oak trees, under clear blue skies. A man-made lake, deer, birds, no other people. Lovely and peaceful. We agreed that if we won the lottery tomorrow we wouldn't settle for that place. It was just one place.

There was no red rock cavern, no wind-swept beach, no rugged snow covered mountains, no swamp, no prong horn antelope, no historic village, no largest ball of yarn (have to). All those things are in our new front yard. 

That's why.

 

12 comments:

  1. Well said and YES to it all. We do still have a "home" which for many reasons explained in one of my recent posts we don't sell but I'd sure like to. I have no intention of doing anything other than dropping by to camp in the barnyard once a year for a couple of weeks. It's as lovely as any campground so why not. Virginia is spectacular in April or October for instance. Holidays the family is thrilled to come visit us in whatever is our current backyard.

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    1. I love Carrie's visits with you guys. What a great opportunity for her to see fabulous places as well :-). We're hoping the boys will have the chance to spend some time with us when they have time off. Agree your farm is a beautiful place!!

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    2. Oh! Thanks for adding me to your roll. It's an honor to ride along.

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  2. Eek. I left a comment and it disappeared! You'll meet lots of new friends just like the two of you. Join Escapees and hook up with a group at Quartzsite in January. Thousands of full-timing RVers hang out there. You're bound to have lots of fun. You'll also meet many of your blogging friends. Sometimes change is good. It adds a little spice to our lives. You'll see so many things your eyes will nearly bug out and it's all ahead of you. Great times, great fun and lots of new friends .....

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    1. Thanks! My dad lived in Quartzsite when he retired and Bill and I have been back during the big show a couple times. Haven't been there in an RV yet so it's definitely on the list to get back and boondock with the masses! We are excited for all the new adventures ahead :-)

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  3. You've got the right attitude for The RV Lifestyle! I can tell your feet are itching to hit the road.

    Hans and I started out completely fresh, never having RV'd together when we started fulltiming. It took us a good 6 months to feel fully 100% comfortable with our new lifestyle...but now, after a year and a half, we are completely settled into the "routine" of seeing new places whenever we want to, exploring new trails and sights ALL THE TIME! It is wonderful!

    It fun to witness your transition through the blog!

    Metamorphosis Lisa

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    1. Thanks Lisa! Sure think we will love that routine :-).

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  4. We are really looking forward to your fulltime lifestyle.....almost as much as you. Now, those who questioned our sanity see how happy we are.....no more questioning.



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    1. Happy is the best response!! Hope all is going well with John's medical stuff and you'll soon be back on the road.

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  5. My life has been similar. I grew up an oil brat, moved so much that sometimes we were on to the next town before our furniture caught up with us from the last one. Moved overseas and then to boarding school. I am a wanderer at heart. Can't wait to get out there. Let the downsizing continue!

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    1. All of my addresses have been in California, with travels to another 12 states, so I'm excited to see the whole country over the next few years. After the downsizing ..... :-((

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