I'm Missing 'Em

{I’ll tell ya- I’m getting sick of writing entire posts and them not saving but a letter each time…….. maybe tomorrow I’ll remember to use something else first so I’m not as frustrated……….}

We’ve done longer stints in the RV than this. Don’t get me wrong- I am not complaining, per say. I know we are blessed beyond measure to have the option of being together during this transition.  In the past, we have even seriously considered full-timing.

I will say, though, that everything is different when you are living compared to being on vacation. It’s hard to look at something as a total adventure when there is no actual end in sight.

There are things I’m starting to miss, though, since we are getting back into the grind of daily living……………

I’m missing my full sized bathroom. Yes, there is the campground bathroom, but it’s not quite the same as having your own full sized bathroom and child-free space since they had their own in the big house.

I’m missing my alone time. Since Hunny is now only home early morning and evening, I’m not even getting much time with him alone, especially since the oldest has decided to start getting up with us at 5:30 am. *sigh*

We used up the last of the real eggs yesterday- I’m really missing my girlies. Actually, all of us girls are missing them and dreaming about them.

The one thing I am really, really missing? If you’ve been reading along, you’ll no doubt remember how much I despise shopping of any kind. {clothes shopping is an absolute hate; followed closely by food shopping.} When I fell in love, I fell hard.

There is something cathartic about buying 16+ gallons of milk and knowing you won’t have to do it again for 2 weeks.

Now, though, I’ve gone in reverse. We can keep a maximum of 3 gallons total in this fridge, which means I have to go to the store every other day just to get milk. I hate that. I’m missing my big fridge, and the extra one in the garage.

While the queen size bed here is good, I am missing my comfy, big, King sized bed. I know. I’m such a spoiled whiner.

At this point, I am even missing my washing machine and dryer. It’s about $12 to do laundry here, for a few loads (and a buck a load is pretty cheap, but that’s about one load per person), and we’ll have to wash about 2xs a week.

I miss TV, too. When I was researching campgrounds, I was disappointed to find slim pickins’. There are 3 available. One is not the best place for extended stays, but has wi-fi and cable, I think. The second one is new; no trees; all concrete (which we don’t particularly like); is more geared for adults than for kids; has a bit of a cheaper rate and has cable and wi-fi- but it’s something like 45 minutes from the plant. That means no chance of Hunny coming home for lunch if he’s able.

The one we’re at is closer- 9 miles away and is nice. It’s clean, the laundry is cheap; the people are very nice {I’ve got my mail forwarded here, even}. But. It’s higher priced; wi-fi is paid at $30 a month PER DEVICE and there’s no TV. Because our rig has just an antennae and we got it before TV went digital, we don’t have a converter. We’re looking into that.

The decision to land here was based mostly on location. But shoot. The kids are bored out of their minds, especially without wi-fi. We’re going to check out the other options, because this is not going to work long term unless we want to shell out major $$$$ for wi-fi, which, of course, we don’t.  There is no clear answer here.

Initially, we figured we’d use our phones to make hot spots, but apparently, they didn’t actually activate that on our plan like we asked them to. Hunny researched it and it looks like it can really mess up the billing with the plan. So, that is a source of frustration.

But really. I am not complaining. I’m just missing the things that made our daily lives comfy, is all. Even our regular activities, like our weekly bible study are off limits- the closest one here is about an hour away from where we are. If we buy a house in the area we were thinking of, it will be a bit closer, but not much.

Hunny doesn’t want the worry of me on the road right now, until we get more settled and more familiar with the area. I can’t say I blame him, but the one class has a homeschooling class, too, which would be nice for the kids.

That, quite honestly, is a BIG miss for me. I spent 8 years with that group of ladies; including 5 years with same basic group core group of leaders and teachers, and it really feels like I’m missing my ‘tribe.’ The things that normally grounded us all- are gone. Yes, we’ll make new “norms,” but until we sell the house and get moved into the next one, it’s going to be hard not to be reminded of what’s missing, mostly because it’s really difficult to make “normal” out of “limbo.”

I’m making a point of reminding myself daily- ok, it’s really moment to moment – to keep my eye on the prize. I’m trying really to visualize the end result we know is coming- and remind myself of how good it’s going to be.

In the meantime, I need to throw my concept of ‘normal’ and ‘preferred’ out the window, because nothing is normal right now; preferences don’t really matter because accommodation has to be made. There is no point in whining or being unhappy.

Now, if I could just get the kids to go along with that plan, things would be looking up considerably. In the meantime, I’ll try not to dwell on what I’m missing………………..

About these ads