Tuesday - Day 23 - Crash Course

When we first bought our camper we were so green and inexperienced we didn't know what we needed to know.

We had an entire two week vacation planned half way across the country and knew little to nothing about our newly purchased vehicle.

John had a crash course in electric and water hook up, the difference between gray and brown water, how to maneuverer around road signs and my personal favorite, potty maintenance. The rule was, no solids in the potty, at least in the beginning.

John grew a beard, I thought possibly to hide any uncertainty he may have had. In retrospect, he had it all under control, and what he didn't know he'd figure out along the way.

John took good care of us, but the physical strain of a move and emotional stress of unforeseen life circumstances, had the best of my sweet husband during our journey out west.

He managed his back pain, with little complaint, through Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming, but by the time we made it to South Dakota he had hit his limit. His back pain was so severe he was unable to get out of bed. We made an important decision that beautiful, sunny day in South Dakota, I would drive 'The Beast' to the closest ER. Instead of seeing Mount Rushmore that day, we would be visiting the inside of a hospital.

I share this story now, not because of the tragedy of John's condition, but for the humor I can muster up as I reflect on the events four years ago.

You see the moment we figured out John was incapacitated, we were still hooked up to our campsite. My stepson, Jack, and I were on a mission to get everything unhooked as fast as possible while poor John lay in the bedroom in agony. Without Jack that morning, I'm not sure we would have exited the park without driving away with a hose or wire trailing behind.

I literally had not one clue, so Jack gave me a crash course in RV break down. The water and electric were easy, but when it came to unhooking the sewer pipe, I was mortified. "I'm not touching that!" I told Jack with an 'I can smell it' face. He looked at me and I could tell he knew he was a goner. If he didn't do it, I was prepared to drive the RV away with the sewer line still attached.

Jack has been my hero every day since. Lucky for me he was helping his dad all week and he paid attention. That was the day Jack stood up and became a man in the family (since his dad couldn't stand at the moment).

I finally scooted behind the drivers wheel, it's big, it's long, it's intimidating. I put 'The Beast' in drive and nothing happened. The kids looked a bit nervous at this point. The chocks were still in place, of course they would be. I looked at Jack, we quickly run out to remove them. I finally hit the road, slow and steady, very slow and very steady. I'm sure I held up traffic that day. I prayed for no hills and we made it to the ER, alive.

John was soon sitting in a private room in the ER. Who would have known South Dakota had such incredible healthcare? I immediately knew he was in good hands when I met his beautiful and lovely ER doctor. She treated him with pain meds and put all of us at ease. By the time I decided to take all four kids to Flintstone Land John already had the nurses smiling.

We all loaded up The Beast to play meet and greet with Fred Flintstone and friends, Fred was a good distraction for the kids. We road bedrock trains and cars. We all secretly missed John, but we did a good job hiding it for photos.

When the hospital finally discharged John, it was to another hospital to take tests. Once again I'm driving the RV/Ambulance, and John decided to get out and check under the back wheel, after he heard a scraping noise. This is the pivotal moment I almost run over his head. Poor John, all that morphine must have helped him keep his cool; thank god he yelled loud enough before I moved one more inch.

That day we survived the ER, me maneuvering 'The Beast', Flintstone mania and John nearly getting his head squashed. Oh the memories!

The next day we made it to Mount Rushmore with all our heads intact.

Monday - Day 22 - "The Beast"

It only took until noon today to find out the offer we made on a motorhome, yesterday afternoon, was accepted. John and I were confident, but still prepared for any outcome. It's hard to express that inner knowing when you know you are on the right path, doing what feels right, and what's meant to be. We are continuing this path with confidence.

Our current RV is our home. She's a 32ft Gulf Stream Conquest that we have nicked named, "The Beast".
It's been a family affair and we all worked very hard making her our own. Saying good-bye to our old home will be difficult. She holds memories with all the kids, much laughter and adventures have been had within these four walls. John also used this home as office space while we lived in Georgia. She keeps secrets and plans for our future.

The beast has visited our entire extended family. We journeyed to Colorado, to see my sister-in-law, to Minnesota to see my
in-laws and to New York to surprise my own family on Long Island. All on her virgin voyage with The Nelsons. In between seeing family, she took us to Kansas, Wyoming, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Ohio and all the way back to GA again. She has shared many wonderful sites with us throughout the U.S.

We decide she needed a makeover after her first trip. With help from my wonderful mother and father in-law and all the kids we renovated the entire inside. After much sweat and tears, she was transformed to her current warm and inviting decor. It's not perfect and it's not everyone's cup of tea, but she's ours and there is a lot of pride in the work all of us did together as a family.

The couch, chair and bench seating area were reupholstered by my in-laws. It was probably the most labor intensive part of the entire renovation. Each piece is comfortable and looks fabulous.

John worked on many items. He pulled up old carpet and laid new faux wood flooring. He replaced all the mattresses. He tiled the top of the bedroom cabinets, re-surfaced the roof, replaced the sink faucet, stained and painted and made many mechanical repairs along the way.

I, with the help of my step-children, painted the entire interior three different colors, stained all the wood, spray painted the bathroom sink, refrigerator shelves, and all the decorative lighting. I choose the colors and fabrics, re-covered all the window treatments and resurfaced the kitchen and bathroom countertops.

The Beast has been loved and she has loved in return. She gave John a bed when he had severe back problems in South Dakota and ultimately drove him to the ER. She took care of Rabbit as he sat in the drivers seat waiting for us to return from our daily escapades. She sat in the hot sun many a day and never once complained.

You will be missed dear Beast. We can only hope your next owner will give you as much TLC as The Nelsons have over the last few years.

To those following my blog: 'The Beast' is for sale and ready to be enjoyed by someone new. Interested parties can contact me at Nelson.leeann@ymail.com.

Sunday- Day 21- My Theme Song in 'See-world'

Today was an absolutely freeing day. I'm not quite sure if it was the live Sheryl Crow concert, the mind blowing roll coaster ride at SeaWorld or the fact that our day began discovering our probable new home.

John and I looked at the perfect Motorhome this morning, it suited us to a tee. I'm positive the first time we both stepped inside a paradigm shift occurred. We mentally and emotionally made a life changing decision the second we agreed to make an offer on the vehicle. We formed a long term commitment together and never looked back.

We already had plans to see Sheryl Crow at Seaworld later in the afternoon. We left the broker and headed over, our minds filled with hope and satisfaction.

As I listened to Sheryl Crow, I connected to the lyrics on a whole new level. I use to belt them out in my college days, my theme song lived on, but it felt better today. I never felt happier or more at peace in my entire life. My thoughts were pure, "Did I ever truly understand what true freedom could feel like?" At that moment a beautiful yellow butterfly passed by. I took it as a sign. "Everyday is a winding road" and I planned to "lay back enjoy the show."

I danced and sang, "All I wanna do is have some fun, and I have a feeling I'm not the only one". We are sitting in the far right section of the stage, front row seats. James and I are standing, and smiling and swaying to the music, Sheryl is singing and waving to her audience, so close she can see us. I spontaneously blow her a kiss and she blows one right back.

I realized, "it's not having what you want, its wanting what you got," and "I'm gonna soak up the sun, gonna tell everyone to lighten up," because "if it makes you happy, it can't be that bad."

Life is a funny thing, leading us, opening up opportunities, just in time, when we need them.

On our way home John informed me with a cute little smile, "This particular RV isn't even an RV, it's a 'motorcoach'." He's beaming. It was originally sent to us by John's Uncle on Thursday. Was that luck, chance or coincidence? If it all works out and our offer is excepted, I will truly believe it was meant to be.

I will close with this, "everyone gets high, everyone gets low, these are the days when anything goes".

Saturday - Day 20 - The Perfect Compromise

My husband and I are invested in the RV full-time lifestyle. We have discussed our options for the future. We came to the conclusion that investing in a better, nicer camper with the commitment of staying in it long term, makes better economical sense then purchasing a home at this time.

Honestly, the conversation went more like this:

John: What do you think about looking at Class A Motorhomes? (ya know, those huge buses)

Me: Seriously? (Straight faced)

John: Well, if we're serious about living full time, why not? It'll give us much more flexibly and we could tow the surbrban if we wanted to. We could take all he kids to the keys. (John's been itching to go down to the keys since we moved here)

The seed has now been planted. I take what he says and am extremely thoughtful. I think about more living space. I think about a bedroom big enough that I won't need to step over Rabbit to get to my closet. I think about having counter space to cook on. If I'm lucky, I may even have a washer and dryer for my delicates. I am smiling at this point. This is all good change for me. Sincerely, the best part is, I don't ever have to drive the thing. After much thought I casually respond.

Me: Honey, I don't know.....are you sure we can afford it?

John whips out his handy financing calculator on his phone and shows me a number I can easily digest. I am sure this is when my seed sprouted.

Me: Let's do it!!

Here we are day one looking at our new potential living spaces. Although, I haven't found the perfect Class A yet, I know we will be settled into our new home soon, on our new block, continuing to live the new American dream.

Freedom on wheels, let the adventures begin.

Photos below: Our Class C vs Potential Class A

Friday - Day 19 - How life has changed

After nineteen days in our RV I have a clear idea of how my life has adapted and changed. It actually doesn't feel as if nineteen days have passed, but in one short week we will have been living in our camper for an entire month. So far I have adapted to the following:

1. Less cleaning. I try to vacuum once a day which only takes a few minutes. I also sweep as needed. My favorite part is not needing to pick up the dirt, I open the door and sweep it all outside. James and Ty love when I do this. I actually cleaned the bathroom today and it only took a few minutes, won't John be surprised. I find myself using paper dishes, but on occasion I still use our plates and we use silverware and mugs. I clean dishes a few times a day. A mindless task I enjoy considering an empty sink is a happy place for me.

2. Less groceries. I actually try to only go grocery shopping once a week. This week was an exception. My weekly trip to Target, before James' T-ball practice, was cut short this week. I reluctantly made an additional trip to Walmart yesterday to get diapers and a few other items for dinner tonight. Keeping my trips limited prevents over shopping and my savings is huge. For the fridge, outside of condiments, I won't buy what I know we won't eat in a week and unless we run out of something it won't even make it to my mini shopping list. I keep only pantry items that I know the boys will snack on daily. And my baking/cooking cabinet is neatly stored with items I normally use. I will admit the 'Buy One, Get One' sales are tempting, but I find myself saying 'No' more often then not.

3. I've become more frugal. Less shopping overall means I am very thoughtful on what I do buy. I am very efficient with food, cooking and nothing goes to waste. We eat all our leftovers. I also find myself explaining to James why we can't buy certain items because they won't fit in the fridge or why we don't need that extra big tub of cheese balls.
A perfect example of this is yesterday. I gave James a limit on how much he could spend on a 'small' toy in Walmart. One to three dollars only as he could read the amounts displayed. He finally picked out a $1 paddle ball, the kind with the string attached. He literally had a ball with it until it broke today. I won't feel bad when I decide to throw it away. It's all needless stuff, I am sure the Chinese Gods are laughing at us.

4. More time outdoors and lots of Fresh Air. When the shades and windows are open, the birds are audible and it's like sitting outside without having the chill of the windy air blowing on me. We find plenty of excuses to go outside. Due to the fresh air we are all well rested, both boys sleep till at least 7:30am and Ty takes 2 nice naps a day. Even James may sneak an afternoon nap in, something he had not been doing for a while.
I have found a nice spot in the woods for rabbit to poop each morning so I don't have to pick it up. He is a creature of habit and enjoys his little piece of heaven.
As I walk with the boys I have become friendly and more social. I feel safe getting to know the people I live near and faces have become familiar.

5. No Wifi (temporarily). I have been to the office 1x this week for a specific download. Otherwise, I manage my blog on my iPhone. I also manage all my banking/bill pay with my iPhone. It's such a novel, convenient concept. I never have to go to a bank again.

Making a home. Overall I am feeling at home here. I haven't felt cooped up or uncomfortable in any regard. Even the pets have found their comfy places in the camper. James likes his bunk above the cab and keeps his stuff hidden away up there. I am forced to train James to keep his stuff in order and to keep his area organized. He is beginning to take after his dad, such a beautiful trait.

Only a few things I'd change. If it was a tad warmer out, I'd sit outside more often and I would be in the pool with the kids. I am definitely looking forward to the summer. Between the beach and the pool I'm sure my little brown berries will be delighted with their new little life in paradise. We have made a home.

Thursday - Day 18 - "The Good Wife"

My husband learns a lot after a talking to people about our current living arrangement. The most interesting perspective is always from other husbands. John has discovered most of them are a tad envious, but mainly intrigued with our present lifestyle. They also have one thing in common, the only obstacle holding them back is their wife.

Their wives can't imagine living in smaller quarters with their kids, or giving up most of their stuff (to storage) or not having a huge kitchen. There are a number of reasons that come up while having the conversation.

I find it absolutely fascinating how many women nix what could ultimately be the best experience of their lives without even beginning to open up to the possibilities.

I accept I have the ability to spin most anything into a positive, but it's truly about making the best of any situation. Having this ability has allowed me to discover aspects of my personalty I never knew existed. When my son, James, tells me something is too hard, I tell him it will get easier and to try again. Life is only as hard as we make it.

So to all the men who want to plant seeds of living the RV lifestyle with their wives here are a few rebuttals for common concerns.

1. Wife: The kids won't have any place to play.
Husband: They will have a huge playground and pool, much more play space then we currently have. Plus, we'll save money not buying chemicals for the pool or maintaining the lawn.

2. Wife: There is not enough room for all our things.
Husband: You spend too much time picking up all our things, you deserve a much needed break.

3: Wife: We won't have a full size kitchen. How will I cook?
Husband: Sweetheart, I will be grilling out every night you can cross cooking off your list.

4: Wife: My shoes! How will I fit all my shoes into those tiny closets?
Husband: We will buy an RV with plenty of closet space to fit all your shoes (this is a fair compromise)

5: Wife: I just can't imagine not living in a house.
Husband: You won't miss your time keeping a huge house, we will be too busy using all that extra time and energy on romantic dinners.
(& then close the deal) Sweetheart think about all the disposal income we will have, allowing you to spend more time at the spa and on weekends away with your girlfriends.

With each husband mine speaks to, I am magically pushed up a few notches on the best wife scale. I have never thought much about my wife market value until now as I become more desirable with respect to my adaptability. Many men may be in awe of my husband because he is "living the dream", but I simply laugh and nod, knowing deep down I'll always be his "Good Wife" no matter where we live.

Wednesday - Day 17 - Fruit Salad Trees

This morning I took the boys on the walking path to "The Mall" which is code for strip mall with a Publix. What a perfect excuse to get the boys outside and enjoy the beautiful day that was upon us, and we were out of milk.

We walked right passed the lake and through a few "no trespassing" barricades, obviously to keep the pesky outsiders from intruding onto our safe haven. The birds were chirping and it felt great to be outside.

James was thrilled as we passed by the orange trees. He picked a few mini oranges with utter excitement. He had lots of questions about planting seeds and growing his own tree.

James decided he wants to grow a tree with 10 different kinds of fruit. We named all 10, even a few that don't grow on trees. At age five a tree with a watermelon sounds perfectly expectable.

When we arrived at Publix James picked out a big, juicy peach so he could plant it's seed and begin his magnificent tree.

I told him we'd also look for a fruit salad tree. I had just learned from a friend that a fruit salad tree will grow multiple fruits at once. I had no idea such a thing existed, but now that I know, I plan to help James' dream of growing a fruit tree come true.

I think planting seeds and growing fruit is something all kids are fascinated by. I remember burying and trying to grow my own peach tree in my front yard as a kid. It never grew, but I never stopped trying.

As adults I think we also plant seeds, but they are mental seeds. We plant seeds with our spouses, our family and friends and then we have our own seeds we plant within ourselves.

I told a very trusted friend today that she could do what we're doing, and live in their 5th wheel. They could rent their house, place most of their belongings in storage and snatch up the open spot next to us in April. It may sound radical, but I know how much they truly love to camp.

I continued to paint a picture. Our four boys would ride their bikes and play together. She and I would sit outside chatting over coffee or a glass of wine. Our husbands could do whatever it is that husbands do together. Most importantly we could help each other out all the time, anytime.

The reality is they could always move back to their house if it didn't work out. I simply planted a seed. It may or may not grow, but it's planted just in case.

My husband, John, plants seeds with me often. Living here is a perfect example. I sometimes think he is shocked when his seeds not only grow, but also flourish. He's the idea man and I am the one who follows through with inspiration to build on it. The seedling soon becomes our reality. It takes both of us, but it always seems to work out as long as we are both on board and we communicate often about what we both want.

I have decided from now on I will begin planting mental fruit salad seeds and see what new realities will manifest in my future.