Thursday - Day 4 - Littlest Camper

Today was quite a day.  I established a mailing address and rented a PO box.  I cringe at traffic and crowds and encountered both on this minor mission.  But, after a few back and forth trips, I managed to get a Florida address.  

Today I also decided that Thursdays will be laundry day.  The reality knowing laundry can be accomplished in 1 hour and put away super fast, considering we only have a few places to store our clothes, is quite a revelation.   The boys had a blast playing and exploring while laundry was being folded outside in the breeze.  James discovered he likes inserting quarters in the washer and dryer.  John gave him a lesson on why the washer spins.  Ty played with acorns.  It's back to the basics.   The boys are happy and content. 

Dinner was easy and healthy.  Cooking on the grill makes life easy for mom.  I have this crazy idea that if I am living outdoors I need to cook fresh food all the time.  James actually ate all his chicken and green beans with fresh almonds.  Score for mom!!  He has also been eating fresh watermelon and grapes daily.  Loving this new lifestyle.  

We walked around the campground to check things out.  The littlest camper makes me stare with wonder.  Who is living there and why? John calls it a "Scamp."   It creeps me out.  What's inside?  Who lives like that? What do they do in there all day?  But maybe people would say the same about us.  I try to reevaluate my thinking.  

But, as I walk by today to take this photo I still can't shake the feeling that somebody lonely lives there.  There's a dog barking and a chain on the door.  My worse fear bubbles to the top, what if he dies in there and no one knows?  The most ironic piece is this tiny box that someone calls home sits on Elm street.  I know there's a story here.  Maybe one day it will be told.

Wednesday - Day 3 - A Place for Everything

Everything has a place and everything in its place.  We have settled in very nicely. I don't even feel crowded anymore.  I actually feel like my life just got unusually more organized and clutter free.  Having the husband here helps tremendously.  Those few boxes got his attention and he finished unpacking his stuff.  He also pulled the boxes out of the Jeep all containing kitchen items.  I miraculously found a spot for almost everything.  John pulled the awning out.  It feels like home.  Windows and door are open, the birds are chirping, is this really our new life?  Incredibly with a little reorganizing everything has a home in the camper and nothing feels out of place. This is a good feeling. Nine months seems like a breeze, but it is only Day 3.                           


                                                                                
I pull a box of spaghetti out of the mini pantry area upside down.  2lbs of pasta rained all over the floor.  Ty is underfoot. “Oooo, sticks where can I put these?”  I snapped a photo. 

                
                         Pick up Sticks in A Sea of Spaghetti

An idea for a blog was born in this very moment, in a sea of spaghetti, this is my life.  I have to share these things, as I know this will not be the last disaster.  And instead of getting frustrated, I started picking up spaghetti and telling this story in my head.  I salvaged what I could as the dog galloped through the hallway crushing my precious spaghetti.  I also discover playing pick-up sticks as a kid helps my new found task of picking up spaghetti as my children eat and play with it faster than I can pick it up.

This is my life and I will appreciate every moment of it.   

 

Tuesday – Night 2 - Eat Well/Live Well

Our first night my husband and I spent in the camper together, (my second night) I found my mind easing as our comfort level was high snuggled in bed in the quiet campground.  We discussed how much money we could save living here and pondered how long we could do it for.  Initially before we left Dallas we concluded 3 months was plenty to save for a down payment and find a home. But, the thought of living debt free and having a house seemed like a better alternate plan.  How long would we live in our camper with our 2 small children.   We threw out a number, 9 months? A year?  People live on less with more.  Could we achieve the Dave Ramsey dream and be free?  We would have to wait a week and reevaluate.  Talking about living in a campground and doing it are two very different things.

I had to figured a few things out first.  For example, we opted to keep our five year old home from a formal school structure until he begins kindergarten in August.  I decided home school in an informal environment will have to do in the meantime.  He has absorbed his time playing online learning games, educational websites and Iphone apps.  This is good thing right?  He is smart and will manage anything I throw at him. There’s my optimism shining through once again. School for James, checked off my list. 

Ty, my one year old, is more of a challenge. I found a stack of flash cards that I could use to educate him.  Lots of words to practice his vocabulary.  He is exploring the world at one and he will now have the chance to explore a campground and meet lots of new people. Life for Ty is pretty easy and happy.  So far he is transitioning well.  Ty's well being, checked off my list.

Groceries:  As I said before, my new mantra is “less is more.”  Considering we have limited space for dry goods and a very small fridge, I will choose my groceries wisely, fresh fruits and vegetables will get eaten fast.  We will make sure nothing goes to waste.  We will eat less and buy less.  Save money and lose weight.  Win-Win all around.  No space to store wasteful junk food is really what I am thinking.  I have discovered my son enjoys fresh baby carrots, watermelon and fresh green beans.  Double bonus.  This is so much better than cookies and chips.  Eat well - Live well. Groceries, checked off my list. 

I think we can do this. 

Ty learning to share

Monday – Night 1 - Solo

My first night at the campground is a solo run.  John has a business meeting in Miami.  “No problem I tell him, the boys and I will be fine.” And I mean it still feeling optimistic.

I still have a few boxes to unpack and some organizing to do.  I specifically packed items I feel I would miss during our camping days.  It was not a lot, however, as I start unpacking these items without my husband’s help, I begin to think maybe it’s too much. We have plenty of storage space in the camper, but as much storage as we have, maybe it just wasn't enough.  I ponder for a moment and decide to leave boxes in our Jeep for when my husband arrives home the next night.

It rained hard the first day into the evening, I was trapped in our camper, boxes still unpacked.  It was cozy, but it would soon be dark and the rain was not letting up.  I began to feel somewhat crowded.  The boxes I choose to ignore, our dog, Rabbit and cat, Elmo were lounging around and the two boys had  become stir crazy.  I listen to the rain and for the first time started to wonder, "What did we get ourselves into?"

Elmo the Cat Chillin'  on our 1st rainy night.

My 5 year old, James pipes up out of the blue "Mom, there's a leak!" And sure enough one of the cabinets had water leaking from it.  I texted my husband, plopped down an empty pot and refused to entertain any worry. It'll get fixed I thought, just not tonight. Drip-drip- - Drip.  All of a sudden the power flickered on/off - on/off.  Was it the A/C, the two computers I had plugged in, I wasn't sure, but something was wrong, and computer number 2 was not pulling power.  Crap, what is going on?  Another text to the hubby should fix this.  

I turned the A/C to the off position, and discover our power was definitely out.  A quick check to the power cord connecting us to the outside world.  This is not real I thought.  It was literally smoking and sizzling.  Is the entire place going to go up in flames our first night out? There’s no way this is happening.  Panicked at this point and on the phone with John, he tells me to use a towel and pull the plug.  I'm nervous, it’s dark and wet outside, not to mention creepy as hell and my sons are in the camper alone.  I manage to unplug the cord with a lot of effort.  But what the heck do we do with no power?

Gratefully it's not hot, so no A/C won't be an issue.  And at least it was late enough so the boys can go to sleep, I decided to read a magazine before easily falling to sleep after a long, eventful day.

THE IDEA MADE INTO REALITY

My husband, John, our two boys and I decide to move from Dallas, TX to Central Florida to live closer to our 3 children from his first marriage.  We knew we’d have a few challenges in regards to where will we permanently settle down and the logistics of moving possibly multiple times if we rent and then buy a home.  When John first suggested we live in our 32 foot motor home, a place we have grown to love over the years, I was all over the idea. Why not, I thought, we love camping in it and it'll make the entire move process an adventure. 
I'm sure he thought I wouldn't consider it when he first made the suggestion, but that seed grew into a reality. The optimist in me is always sending creating positive thoughts to smooth over those unknown details that would otherwise linger. 

Our move was effortless; although the drive was long it felt satisfying.  Although my thoughts often drifted of the amazing people we met and were now leaving in Texas, I knew we were on par for the course of our lives.  It felt eerily right as the distance to Florida grew shorter and shorter.

We made it safely.  All our worldly possessions stored in a 10x20 storage unit.  Did we even need all that stuff?  Less is more, is my new mantra.  We close the door and move on to our new lives.  

James, Rabbit & John in the moving van.