And the Beat Goes On

5/12/2016

Home fires burning

I have officially made it six weeks living in an RV without going stark raving mad (although I've come dangerously close a few times). And even though six weeks is a small portion of the six months we have committed to living in the woods in a camper with limited space and limited possessions, it's a good solid start. My next post will be from one of my absolute happiest places on earth...but wanted to share an update on how things are going in "adventureland."

For the most part, I feel as though I have finally settled into that pace and rhythm I have so desired since moving to the RV. I really could get used to the ease of not having a lot of stuff to keep up with, a lot of stuff to clean and maintain, and just generally fretting over a lot of stuff. Do I have a place for this? Have I cleaned this recently? Is is time to dust that again? What am I gonna do with that if I bring in this? Basically in an RV you bring in only what you absolutely have to have, find a place for it, and leave it there! I mean, why do you really need a whole set of cookware when two pots will suffice? Once you've filled all the nooks and crannies, you cannot -- CANNOT -- bring anything else in without something going out! But I'll give it to the manufacturer of our Rockwood...they absolutely made use of every available inch of space. In fact, hubby just recently discovered the seats of our dining chairs lift to reveal storage underneath, how cool is that? He has claimed these spaces for storage of small computer parts and almost didn't reveal his find, tempted but not succumbing to the keeping of his dirty little secret all to himself. He better be glad he did! To not reveal extra storage to your wife could be considered by some a federal offense. But I've noticed computer parts have been showing up in undisclosed places everywhere. Ahh, living with an IT guy, you gotta love it. You'll also be happy to know I've made my peace with the tiny shower and have actually been taking more showers lately. I know, I know, it's a small thing but it counts as progress. Plus, being in the outdoors definitely does warrant the more frequent cleansing of one's body. I stand corrected on that one.

I will admit the thing that has pulled me though this time is the proximity to the great outdoors (and lots of prayer). Unlike some postage-stamp-sized suburban lots, my outdoor space is expansive and it just seems the blue sky above this area of the world stretches a little bit higher than anywhere else. A two-mile hike for me is right outside my tiny front door, and I hope to take more advantage of that through the coming months...my goal for the summer and into the fall when our time here is complete is to hike the full seven miles around the lake. We've had some cool evenings and sitting around a big campfire as the sun sets is an experience everyone should have at least 100.2 times in their life...that's roughly one to two times per year depending on how long you live. When we light our tiki torches and the twinkle lights dangling from the RV come on, well, it doesn't get much better than that. I've finally begun to settle in, doing the things I do when I want to make a place home...you know, buying small pieces of word art for the walls (self-confessed word-art junky here)...adding plants...buying baskets and containers to further organize this tiny space and, most of all, looking at this little RV with fondness in my heart as I for the first time am actually considering it home for now. Miracles do indeed happen.

So the journey continues -- or really has just begun. Even though I've struggled in the changes, I finally may have learned how to make it work for me and have a peaceful heart at the same time; and for that I am very thankful. I've wondered at times in my life if I could find peace and tranquility in simplicity, in a life uncomplicated by having less things and in the absence of extravagance, because I do love me some bling once in awhile. I've wondered if I could find contentment in the weaving in and out of days which include not much more than the daily chores around a campsite. The only way to know if that life is for you is to live it, to try it, to experience it firsthand. The funny thing about it is I'm finding much to my surprise that living that simplicity is what really brings you the peace. In that peace you learn to focus on the things that really matter in life more than things...relationships and faith and inner tranquility. As time has moved forward, I can see I've evolved in just these six short weeks, and that my education in and of the things of life on this tiny dot spinning in the Milky Way is far from being over. Each day, each week, each month brings new things I am being pushed and stretched to do beyond what I consider my comfort zone, and it appears as though I'm finding joy not only in the familiar but in the unfamiliar as well, and perhaps seeing a glimpse of what it means to bloom where you're planted -- to be content wherever you land and in whatever circumstances you find yourself. I am discovering more about who I am as a wife, a mother, a friend, and a woman in the 21st century. If you had told me 25 years ago that I'd be living in an travel-trailer for six months in the year 2016, I would surely have told you there was no way I would ever do that, that you didn't know me very well. Plus, 25 years ago, 2016 looked like a space-age time in a galaxy far away.

I also would've accused you of being stark raving mad for even suggesting the notion!

Next post from the beautiful, the magical, one of the closest-to-heaven-on-earth places I've ever known...the blue waters and toe-squishing sands of Ormond Beach, Florida. It's beach week, y'all!