It's Our Life Not Just a Vacation

Saturday, May 18, 2013

On our last visit with relatives a lot of assumptions were made about our lifestyle. I've been mulling them over, because I think it's worth writing a bit about the life we lead and why it's not a non-stop vacation.


We are continuing the same life and relationship we lived before, but in a much smaller space with more time together. The scenery outside our windows changes from day to day, but we still deal with the day to day duties of life. On a vacation we set aside our bills, chores, groceries, worries, relationship issues, and the extra stress of jobs and life and try to relax and cut loose. Sure, we are going new places and having new experiences, that's why we chose this lifestyle, but life goes on and we have to keep up with it.

The bills still have to be paid and finances attended to. The house needs to be maintained. Instead of a larger stationary house, we have a small mobile house that needs tightening and repairing as things jiggle loose from moving or breakdown entirely. Our house is also our vehicle, so we have maintenance and repair issues on that as well. We have to be intimately involved with water, waste water, and electric issues. In a house those just happen. In the RV we have to make them happen. We need to keep track of those levels plus diesel and propane levels. When we dry camp we need to be on constant vigilance of our use of all these and how much power we are getting from our solar panels.

The house needs to be cleaned. Laundry has to get done, groceries bought, and food prepared. We rarely eat out, to save on our expenses. I cook almost the same as I did at home. Smaller kitchen, same recipes. Laundry and groceries have to be coordinated while we are on the road. I don't have a car to run off and take care of them. Sometimes the campground has a laundry and that feels like a luxury!

Any relationship issues you had as a couple before the move, come with you and get intensified. On vacation they tend to be pushed aside, and when you get home pushed under, ignored or nagged about. On the road you find out quickly the little quirks and annoyances you didn't know the other had. Any lack of communication shows up right away as in, “Why are you taking that route?”. “We discussed this. Don't you remember?” Not an elderly memory issue, a lack of communication issue. Yep, happened to us. We quickly learned to make sure we are both on the same page before turning over the key in the morning.


I am a night person, Greg is a morning person. In a house we could separate out physically from one another. In the RV we can't. We are both introverts and need our quiet time. So, more adjustments and needing to be more considerate of one another than we had to be in a house. Every now and then we have a day when we are both cranky. Things are going wrong and we don't have the joint patience to deal with them. Not everyday feels like a vacation!


Ah, but then there are the perfect days, which are the reason we chose this lifestyle. The good days far outweigh the bad. We look past the drudgery of the stuff that still has to be done, and soak in the beauty of our surroundings. A hike through a beautiful forest, or desert. A long walk along the ocean or a river. A good meal and a shared life full of grace, new experiences, new people and places and we are renewed in our commitment to this life.

We feel incredibly fortunate to live this life. But, we chose it, and made and continue to make it happen for us. For decades we made lifestyle decisions that would allow us to have choices and not be stuck into a life we didn't want, but couldn't get out of. We work at being frugal each day so that we can extend this experience. A vacation is a time to spend extra for a good time. Our life needs financial restraint in order for us to keep doing this. It's a life, not a vacation.