I was just thinking today that for the last 13 years, April 1 has been the signal to start clearing out the closets and pantry and wardrobe, in preparation for moving down the road in the RV, to whatever destination we had decided on for the season. This year is different. We are going nowhere for the first time in over a decade.
Although I have known for months that our RV traveling days are over, yesterday just brought it home to me that we really aren’t going to go. It feels weird, different, almost incomprehensible that we are here in the house to stay. Every morning when I wake up, it still feels strange to be living in a house again. That this huge space with separate rooms, and a bathroom almost as large as the whole RV is ours.
The house isn’t really that big. It is two bedrooms, living room, kitchen-dining room combo. It’s maybe 950 square feet. We have only furnished it with necessities, so it isn’t stuffed full like our last house was. And because of that, it still echoes like an empty house when we walk around in it. It feels so roomy and big and spacious, like a mansion. But even with how big it is compared to the RV we lived in for so long, I feel like I’ve lost something. Maybe it’s my freedom to go wherever I want to go, or the thrill of discovering what’s around the next bend or over the next hill. I’m trying as hard as I can to be happy about staying here. After all, I’ve known since last summer that it was coming.
Sandra says
April 2, 2013 at 10:08 pmI know how you feel. It was tough to do!
Dee says
April 2, 2013 at 10:48 pmI know the feeling, it’s giving up a routine that’s been part of your life for so long. I felt the same way when I stopped working. At first it was like being on vacation but after a week I missed getting dressed and leaving, I missed the familiar and didn’t know what to do with myself. It’s normal to go through a bit of a mourning period for a part of your life that’s done but it’s also a new beginning to make a life, one that’s filled with new adventures and new discoveries. I’m sure owning a home was a dream of yours for several years so you just traded one for the other.
Sandy says
April 2, 2013 at 11:01 pmBe thankful that you bought your house when you wanted too and not when you had too. That would have been added stress you didn’t need! Make the most of what you have and don’t look back with regrets. Spend time with your kids and grandkids and spend your summer turning your house into your home! I am sure that your family is overjoyed with your being closer and not cross country. I think you are blessed with gifts you may not see yet…
Gaelyn says
April 3, 2013 at 2:35 amYou need to set your mind to a new dream. Will miss you this summer.
Dianna Snyder says
April 3, 2013 at 10:07 amI am sure it is quite a change. I know you are glad to be closer to family, but not going some place different every few months is quite a change.
We are staying in one place while my husband teaches in a community college, but we can still go site seeing in the summer and between semesters.
I know you are thankful for all the things you have seen and done in the last 10 years. We all have to make changes as we age. I don’t like it either, but I will do what I have to do when the time comes.
Thanks again for all the beautiful photos and stories you have shared through the years. I have really enjoyed them.
May the Lord bless and keep you.