We May Or May Not Be Prepared

There is a reason I haven't posted in nearly three weeks.  The prep work for a trip of this magnitude is . . . in a word . . . lots.

Beyond the obvious preparations like getting an RV, packing for five people with limited space for a year, and figuring a route/itinerary, there are also things that wouldn't occur to you unless you were taking the trip yourself.  Mailboxes . . . how do you manage your life without an address?  Of course, many things can be taken care of online.  But how do you get a product (like school curricula) that has to be ordered and shipped when you don't have an address?  There's also planning the budget -- for the known and the unknown.  Then, there are the little things you do in life when you're primarily in one location, like doctor's appointments.  Prescription refills.  Dental exams.  Church tithe.  Vet visits.  Nothing impossible, but just lots of tiny things that require some phone calls and prep work.

Our rig.  It's long.  I can't fit it all in one picture.

 

Today, we returned home from a big part of our preparation.  Here's where I'd like to add a shameless plug.  We purchased our used RV from the F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S. guys at TJ Auto Sales in Ravenel, South Carolina.  As they say down south, "Them's good people, y'all."  Todd and Julian, at TJ Auto Sales, have gone above and beyond to make sure our motor-coach is perfect.  As part of our RV purchase, these guys put us up in an RV park and actually came with us -- we did "RV School."  I mean, you can't name one other place with this kind of service.  (www.coastalrvcenter.com)

RV school could have been overwhelming and dull, but Julian's knowledge of and passion for RVs, paired with his quick humor, made our learning experience casual and fun.  Yesterday we knew nothing.  As of today, we have both driven the RV, we've had a complete run through of everything -- the diesel engine, the generator, the electric, water, & sewer hookups, the "must knows" about driving, campground etiquette, and so on.  We learned what to make sure we do, and what to never do.  Out of respect for my handsome prince of a husband, I won't go into details about how we learned what not to do, but  . . . two new tires later, let's just say it was a lesson learned.

Oh, I'm not gonna lie, there were moments last night . . . (like when all three kids were bouncing off the walls, and we can't go outside because of the pouring rain, and Billie Jean won't stop barking at the dog in the mirror, and every time somebody puts their elbows on the dining table it tilts significantly, and all this was punctuated by the fact that mine and Brown's feet both hang off our short mattress) . . . that I wondered  . . . just what are we doing.

It's a lot of work to uproot from your life.  The learning curve has been steep. Sounds silly, but in some ways I feel like we're stepping into a different culture.  This is all good, though.  It's scary to release the stronghold of comfort & stability we enjoy in our lives.  It's a lesson in humility to be reminded that in so many areas, we are like freshmen stepping into the first day of high school.  And, it's important to be reminded that there are people out there who do life differently than your corner of the culture. 

I'm looking forward to recording how our eyes will be opened, how our hearts will be changed, and how God will arrange our days.  This . . . is the way we go.