On the road again…

I’m sitting underneath a family of spruce trees, leaves rustling as the wind gently moves. Hope, our RV, is right beside me as I download my thoughts into words. We’re on the move again and it’s been, as you would expect, both crazy and beautiful. The crazy sometimes overwhelms you if you aren’t careful, if you focus on the trial, if you forget the wonderful memories. For us, the first day back on the road was crazy. No, we didn’t have major vehicle issues, medical emergencies, or unexpected ‘bumps in the road’…but we did realize after being settled comfortably in Boise for 3+ weeks in a ‘normal’ routine that, in some regards, it was back to work. Only this time, we also had to figure out how to do homeschool with interruptions and less than ideal workspace. This hit Nani the most, she felt the enormous burden of keeping the healthy meals coming while educating or kids—- this isn’t exactly the lifestyle imagined….or was it?

As we prepared for this trip, one of our 5 core values was ‘sacrifice’. We knew that it would be work, risky, and that creature comforts would be few and far between but we also understood that the harder path produces growth. The benefit in this instance would be the opportunity to take a detour from the traditional path and allow us to see and experience things from a different perspective. But that’s easy to say isn’t it? We have definitely felt the urge to hit the “there’s no place like home” button, particularly after leaving Boise. It’s been two months and we miss our friends in San Diego. But that’s part of the sacrifice.

One thing I have been really thinking about lately is “what would I be doing I wasn’t on this trip?” One thing for sure, I wouldn’t have to empty the septic tank every other day! We’ve definitely had to sacrifice but we’ve already seen some tangible results. At an overnight stop in the Tri-city region, with nothing else to entertain us, Daniel decided that he was ready to ride his bike and pedaled faster than I could keep up. Also, we parked Hope at my teammates property in Coeur d’alane which had an incredible view of nothing but pure beauty- mountains, pines, and deer walking by. We enjoyed spending time with his family and Ally even got to practice her babysitting skills.  (by the way, thank you Jimmy for letting us use your office as a portable homeschool studio.) Ally got to shoot a gun for the first time. While breaking out of our ‘normal’ routine has been tough these experiences just wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

So for now, we will continue down this unique path knowing that there is sacrifice involved, but also knowing that this is creating unique opportunities. I’m hardly advocating that you drop everything, pack up the family, and get in an RV for a year. But perhaps you are currently overwhelmed with your situation and a change in the routine is what you need. It will involve risk, and maybe some sacrifice, but honestly, what do you have to lose? A camping trip in your backyard, a fast from social media to play boardgames with your kids, eating dinner in the park- whatever your creative mind can conjure up. Won’t you at least consider doing something a little different and seeing where it takes you. I can’t promise it won’t come without sacrifice, but I can promise that you won’t regret it.

Much Aloha,

Loco