Realizations...

This is a piece I wrote to submit to O magazine…

I’ve come to realize this path is less about finding yourself and more about creating yourself. It doesn’t come cheap, there can be lots of sacrifices along the way, but it’s worth the cost.

     Two years ago our family found themselves at a crossroads of sorts. My husband was looking at trying to survive yet another round of corporate layoffs and the school I taught at was making a major shift in pedagogy.  It was a set of circumstances that wasn’t particularly out of the ordinary but presented us with the timing to do something extraordinary. For years we had dreamed of getting away from the rat race and spending a year on the road, traveling the country with our kids. And so we took the leap, sold everything we owned, bought an old 32 foot fifth wheel and a used truck and left our regular lives behind. I homeschooled our two boys, quietly while my husband slept after a long nightshift at his computer. It wasn’t ideal, and oftentimes it wasn’t pretty, but it was always worth it. During the afternoons we would explore America’s National parks and earn Jr. Ranger Badges, 60 of them! We spent our days exploring the battlefields of Gettysburg, the shell beaches of Sanibel Island and the small towns of America getting to know this country inside and out.  And what we found was truly miraculous. The time we were able to spend as a family, outside our comfort zone, pushed us to be closer than we could ever have imagined. Day in and day out of required mental and emotional flexibility gave us the space to see each other in our true forms. As a mother, I was able to see my children in a completely different light. I saw them stretching their comfort zones, making new friends along the way and maintaining long distance friendships. I saw them shift to become inquisitive learners, seeking out knowledge rather than waiting to have it presented to them. I saw them change and grow and become young men who engage and hold active conversations with people of all ages from all walks of life. I realized I had been seeing them as the world thought they “should” be, and judged their progress that way, rather than giving myself, and them, the space to see ourselves as we were and as we were becoming.

      As a wife I became even closer and more grateful for a husband who would do so much to spend this time with his family.  It was amazing to see him as a father, pushed beyond his comfort zone and still exploring and learning and overcoming along with us. How many times did we sit on the side of the rode with yet another flat laughing like lunatics because we realized that THIS WAS the life we chose, Rather than the hand we thought we had been dealt.  As a couple we were often amazed to look at each other and say “I can’t believe we are really doing this! We are living our dream!” I found myself living each day with a sense of authenticity in who I was becoming and what we were doing. I loved taking the time and space to really settle into a life of profound gratitude and gentle reverence for what I had achieved as well as what I had been given.

     And when people would ask why, why would you leave all you had achieved? Why would you give up your retirement? Why would you intentionally live in 320 square feet?  We would tell them. Because we all leave this world and we don’t get to choose when. And to leave this world with the regret of not having lived our dream, was too great a burden.

At the end of one year, we attempted to return to the life we had left behind only to find it no longer fit. We were trying to shove ourselves back into a box we had clearly outgrown, and my authentic self would not have it. So we didn’t even unpack, we just said our “see you down the road” ‘s to our beloved community and took off once again. The danger of finding your authentic self is that things will never again be the same. Nothing looks as it once did, nothing fits the same way. For us, living small had made so much more room in the world we knew that we couldn’t go back to the same way of being. Not once in the last two years have I asked myself, “What is the meaning of this life I’ve been given?” I know now, that no matter how many times the view from my window changes, the important thing is the people inside my rig. For us, home really is where you park it, and that sense of home is wrapped up in the journey we are taking together. I thought I was leaving home to explore the country, but what I found was that we took our home with us, to find our authentic selves. And we haven’t looked back.

Well, I guess as you can see, the last post was April. So much has changed in that time. Some of it is hard to process, hard to understand and hard to accept. But it's all part of the journey!
So I'll post some of the writing I have done since we've stopped here for the winter in Fort Collins Colorado.
Long story short, we sold our RV and our truck to a lovely young family, and we are here staying in our friends home until April while they travel the southern states.
I promise to write more about why and how we have made this choice but not now... working up to it!
Travel safe, see you down the road....
Laura

New You Tube Video of Zion!

Fulltime nomads in Zion!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTfh5FEiqiI&feature=youtu.be

Jacob's V-log....

Jacob chose to spend his 12th birthday time/energy/gift at a no-kill animal sanctuary. Even BEFORE he chose to spend it that way I regarded him as a unique and powerful force in this life but more so now. I am so glad he has found his passion and even more grateful that he has become the kind of person who wants to help those in the world without a voice. I am amazed by the young man he is becoming. He is even saving half of everything he makes to start his own shelter at 18! Enough bragging.... Here is the link to our family You tube channel with his Vlog. (Video Blog)

Jacob's Vlog!

BoonDock prep

Boon docking or dry camping. Camping/living without electricity or water provided by an outdoor source. "off the grid". 

Crystal clear waters at Sand Hollow and the Lake all to ourselves...

We are preparing to boondock for the next week, or so. I say “Or So” because it really is the truest test for us of flexible planning. Our rig is not as self -contained as we would like it to be. For instance, we have a small, very loud gas powered generator. It provides enough energy to run our microwave and to charge our battery so that we can have computers and hot water heater and lights.  But it is LOUD and no one, ourselves included, wants to hear it for more than an hour at a time. So, until we get solar panels and an inverter we are beholden to stay in places with power, use the generator or, in this case, hook up to our dear friends who have enough solar to power a small village! (If our lovely friends can power TWO families for a week on their solar panels, why in god’s name aren’t we ALL doing it in our sticks and bricks and sharing with those who need it?) I can't adequately describe the feeling of living free- FOR FREE! Of course, it's not, there are all kinds of factors that come together to do this but you get the drift. 

     We planned on staying one night at the Sand Hollow campground just outside St. George Utah but the winds were too dangerous to move in so we stayed another day. Thank goodness because we got to explore a WONDERFUL park in St. George and the children’s museum. About 6 months ago I stopped taking the boys to kids museums because most of the ones we ended up at were really geared toward younger kids but in this case there was lots to do for everyone. It was great, as you can see from the pictures! We had a great time while Daddy took one for the team in a stinky laundromat with our friend Chris and finished some much needed laundry. Today, off to boondock outside of Zion! Wahoo!!!!

    

My office this morning...

Jacob and D.J. on the way home from swimming...

The perfect jumping rocks, and it was COLD!!!!!

 

Our new Hula girl and the Tardis leading us into UT

Scratching the hitch it!!!!!

It’s a ghost town around here! The park is quickly emptying, actually, people have been departing steadily all month. When we go to hear the peacocks at dusk there are no campers below, just us and the birds. There is another family here, the Denins, that we adore. They split their time between their property in Scottsdale and their place in Bend. All the kids run wile through the empty sites between the families. It’s great to see them playing with glowsticks and flashlights well after the street lights have come on. We’ve even had to give our kids a curfew as they would stay out all night with the others if we let them. They are in kid heaven here. Both families do school in the morning, then around one the kids each pick a big bag of weeds that they take up to the office to trade out for a frozen treat. We all head to the pool where they play Water Volleyball with whatever is left of the winter crowd. And then home again to refuel before the wild rompus begins.

     I am itching to be back on the road, exploring new places and learning new things. Alan is less excited as he ends up fixing something each time we stop, or dealing with a blow out. He would benefit most of all from upgrading the rig as it is taking it’s toll on him. All three of them would like to get a bigger rig and stay out but I am not sure that’s possible right now. While I would LOVE to have a newer, more reliable rig and stay out, I think we need to pay this one down a bit more before we do anything with it. We are spending the next few months looking at possible locations to stop for a year or so. We have added Austin, Walla Walla, Boise, and Bend to the already large list of potential spots. Many of those are driven by Alan’s job prospects and his total refusal to live anywhere that may even remotely reek of snow. And, as I am clearly a total nightmare in anything above 87 degrees, it limits our discussions! If Alan has his way there is pretty good chance that we’ll eventually end up raising the boys as snowbirds if they choose to remain and thrive in a virtual or homeschool setting. As long as they are thriving, I’m happy as a clam to do whatever!

     I have been tutoring online and amassing information about working with homeschool parents. I am also doing some writing of travel articles.

     Jacob’s dog walking business is thriving, and he is even asking his clients for letters of recommendation to put in his portfolio. He has done some clever marketing with business cards and treats and his clients treat him well.

     Aiden continues to look for something he can do as a business but honestly would rather a nice commercial or tv series drops into his lap. Sounds familiar.

    The boys have had an amazing winter with their Nanna and Pappa Bob. They have had lots of sleepovers and rootbeer floats and plenty of game nights. Jacob is regularly beating the adults in games of strategy. But Nanna and Pappa Bob get the upperhand more often than not. They got game!!!! 

We are very excited to depart, next stop, Williams AZ!

At the Cotton Farm tour with the girls!

Weekly pool volleyball with the residents...

Poor unsocialized kids...

At Organstop Pizza with Jane and Terry Owen!

What the?????

Tonja and I rode the Ferris wheel together!

Our new Hula Girl!

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know! It’s been ages since we last POSTED!! Lots of things going on, some changes and some not… This post is just to catch up, we aren’t traveling until next month so no new areas to cover. This is really a glorified Christmas Card, once we start traveling again I’ll get back to the “nomadic” posts! 

     In December we arrived in Casa Grande, AZ with the intent to stay until the first week of January. (We are still here! It’s mid March! We have two pools, a hot tub, a library, gym, restaurant, free waffle breakfast each day and good Internet. This park is AWESOME!) We spent Christmas with Alan’s Mom, Debbie and Pappa Bob. They went WAY out of their way to make us comfortable especially as they spent so much of that time at the hospital! Pappa wasn’t feeling well and was in and out the whole time.  Despite it all they made it a Christmas to remember! The boys were in heaven!

     We were enjoying the time with Nanna and Papa so much we decided to stay through January (and then a few more months as well!) Our friends, the Travaglino’s, came to stay at the park for a week, and then two and then three! We got to visit with the Perry family as they came through. We were joined by Kristi and Matt Smith and their son Stanten as well as the Savory family. Before we knew it, mid February had arrived! In March the Allen family joined us here at the Park and Jane and Terry Owen are in the area as well! Lots of friends all around!

Organstop Pizza with an amazing
Wurlitzer performance

Jane and Terry with the Boys

     In mid January Aiden decided he wanted to go to the local elementary school.  At first we were stymied, he certainly isn’t lacking social opportunities as we have been surrounded by kids almost every day. But as the weeks went on we came to see that Aiden really likes the structures of a school day. He likes going through the line at lunch, likes sitting in a desk, likes the traditions of a school setting. While he wasn’t really going there for the academic part, he was fine with it. He was frustrated at having to slow down and not being allowed to read at a higher level. He was frustrated that when he didn’t get part of the math they moved ahead without him. It provided a good opportunity to talk with both kids about the pluses and minuses to a system that is forced to work with so many kids at any given time. With Aiden gone during the day, Jacob and I decided to pursue some intensive programs to work on his dyslexia. We are doing some cross body and brain/ body programs. He made huge strides in his reading abilities but more important than that, we are seeing “our Jacob” coming back in the academic realm. His self esteem has returned, he is more engaged in academic areas, he is excited about new academic challenges and even making his own path in areas like engineering and programming. (He has taken apart his bike, our old Xbox and our old popcorn popper!) His Grandfather sent him a book this week that is really challenging for him but instead of shrinking from it, he is diving in. We are very proud of him.

     He has started a dog walking business here at the park and taken it upon himself to make cards and attach them to dog treats, then taking them to the dog park and giving them out. He has met outstanding people, as we always seem to. Last week he dog sat for two HUGE golden retrievers, who, not surprisingly, spent the whole time cuddling with us at our house. When the “parents” picked up the dogs they gave him extra money and are sending him a set of Walkie Talkies from their home when they get back to Colorado! He is also walking a dog twice a day for a woman I met here while working out. He is loving it! He meets the greatest people and we are so proud of his interactions with them.

     I have been working with Jacob but also tutoring privately online and with an online tutoring company. I am also chugging along with Learning Pathfinder, adding new content as I can. I am starting to open it up to the high-school end of the spectrum and hoping to speak with a few home school groups in Utah next month. I am partnering with a College prep group and we are working creating on a project that will hopefully be mutually beneficial. In addition I am working with Fulltime Families to implement a “scouting” type program for full-time kids. We have created over 30 badges at three different age levels. We have monthly meetings online and kids do their requirements, post the evidence to our private facebook page and then get badges and lanyards and the whole shebang. It’s been great fun, I love connecting with the families this way and hope to meet many of them at the fall roadschool conference in MO. Fulltime Family Explorers is our name. 

     Alan has been doing phone and Skype interviews all over the country. He is actively looking to leave his current remote position even though the reality of that means we will need to pick a place to hold still. The company he is contracted through randomly cuts hours between full and part time with no notice and it’s just too much stress. So, we are spending the next few months looking for places to settle that are relatively near tech hubs, but also with a low cost of living.

     That being said, we’ve made some tough choices recently. After weeks of debate and agonizing, we have decided that instead of going back and teaching full-time I’ll continue to tutor, work with fulltime families and do Learningpathfinder workshops. This will give me time to work with Jacob another year and see if we can’t get him even further along in reading. He has made great progress and putting him back in a system with 28-1 ratio in a district that has cut all their learning aides, makes no sense when we can do it differently right now. Not everyone has the opportunity to work one on one with their kids, but if we can make the sacrifices and do it now, we believe in the payoff for him down the road. We are actively looking for tech or STEM stick and brick high schools or online academies for him in the next few years.

     So, the plan is to move west, and north ending up in MT by July 4^th  to see family. By then we will choose a place to stop so that Alan can stop working nights. I have loved working with the homeschool community and am looking forward to getting in with a great homeschool group or starting a home school co-op in a community that may not have one. While none of us really want to stop traveling, the rig DOES! So we’ll “pause” until the time is right again. Until we find a place to rest, happy travels to you!