Why Are We Doing All This...?

Before I begin writing on what the title says our time at home has been shortened some. We get to leave earlier than planned and will arrive at the park 2 days before we thought....so that means, we have 9 more days left. Wow! Hard for me to even write that number. This week has just flown by with all the things we have left to do. But I am feeling a lot better, some of the really stressful items have been checked off the list and now it is just minor odds and ends to do.

Now back to the title. I had someone ask me the the other day why we are doing this, moving into an RV and leaving our sticks and bricks. Hmmm, great question why are we???  I am sure if you ask other full timers you will get many answers that are the same, and then some that are different. {It would be fun to have some of you post your responses in the comments.}  I am going to try not only for you, but mainly for me, and my memory to write it all down.

My Mom and Dad were great people. We had a good relationship and the girls and them were very close but they did one thing that I just could not stand. Once my Dad retired they just sat around and did nothing and they both were in good health. ( my Dad did mow a cemetery for a few years) But what I mean is they seemed to loose all spark for life. They watched TV all the time and it seemed like their biggest goal for the day was to go out and eat supper.  I couldn't stand it. I told Art hundreds of time I cannot do that when you retire, I will just wither up and blow away, I have to have something to do. And...this is the biggest reason, I refused to live in IN in the winter any longer.  I have to have light, I can handle the snow, the cold not so much, but I need light.  IN has the most dreary, overcast skies in the country, (according to me). Even if it is cold, if the sun is out I feel better.  I want to be able to go outside everyday, walk, and breath fresh air, feel that warmth from the sun on my face. The fact that I fell on the ice 2 winters ago and broke my shoulder did nothing to encourage my love for IN winters.  And that too is a reason, I don't want to fall on the ice or have Art fall either and break a hip or another shoulder. It hurt!

I feel like I need a reason to get out of bed in the morning. The girls have been my whole life and that is the way I wanted it,  absolutely no regrets. But they are grown, married, (almost) and now have families of their own, and so we are not needed like before. We will continue to be a huge part of their lives and Meredith's (granddaughter).  Just because you are moving into an RV doesn't mean you are leaving the country. It is no different than someone moving to another state to live. And we plan to return home, we can be back here in hours, and we will be if we are ever needed.

Now the fun reasons....can you imagine living in a new place every few months?  A different back yard to look out upon from your window. Traveling in YOUR HOME to new places and seeing new things.  Getting to work/volunteer in some of the most beautiful places in the country.  And I shouldn't say work because the camp hosting jobs we did last summer were the farthest thing from work they were loads of fun. And the wildlife, oh my gosh I cannot wait to get back down to Hardin Ridge to the deer/fawns, turkeys, turtles, birds, squirrels, toads, and rabbits.  The photo opportunities and the interaction was just unbelievable. Last year while I was sitting on that golf cart and those deer with those big brown eyes would just stare at me while I took their pictures, it was just magical for me. I feel alive and at such peace out in the woods and with animals. When I was a little girl I would spend a large amount of my time in the woods playing, I would grab my fishing pole and walk down to the creek and fish. (This was when you could still let your kids do these kinds of things and feel safe about it) I never felt scared and I never got lost. It seemed so natural to me, and so safe.

Yesterday we went to Verizon to update our phone. And the young girl waiting on us asked if we wanted to keep the second line and we said no we would be together now since Art has retired and one was enough. She asked what we were going to do now and we told her. She was just giddy with excitement. She asked us many questions and went on and on about how neat this was. She said, "if you were my parents I would think you guys are so cool to be doing this." 

One thing that I haven't mentioned is money.  When we lived in our RV last summer we lived on much less money. We didn't want to go shopping, see a movie or eat out. We were so content to just stay at the park and sit and read, walk, listen to the birds talk. Your whole mindset changes. Our home now sits on 8 acres and we are tired of mowing, raking leaves, shoveling out barns, paying property taxes, and large propane bills, and I am just plain tired of mopping a big kitchen. :)  I think I will end with that said.  Take care.