This week marks our 6-month anniversary of being on the road. This is where you probably expect me to say that “it feels like we just started,” but in reality, it feels like we have been doing this for so much longer—in the best (and sometimes worst) ways.
In the past 6 months, we have driven almost 23,000 miles, visited 25 states, stayed at 33 campsites, hiked 141 miles, caught 190 fish (well, Will and Bird did that), and watched Little Bird take her first steps. We have had visits from my parents, Will’s parents, and Will’s sister and her partner, and we have had the opportunity to meet up with friends and family in various states along the way. We stayed in 1 campground for the entire month of November, and we moved to new sites 4 days in a row in January. We have brushed the surface in many areas and dove deep in others. And there are so many places we want to go back to.
The 6-month mark feels like a rite of passage. When we first started out, I remember reading and having people tell us that 6 months is really the point where people figure out they can live this lifestyle or they quit.
And through all the fun and adventures, we have, at several points, talked about quitting, but we are by no means ready to be done with this adventure.
However, the next 6 months may look a little different for us. We have been going gung-ho since we started, and we are ready to slow things down a little. Rather than staying a few nights in a place, we may start to spend a week or so. Rather than planning months in advance (mostly due to our Thousand Trails membership), we may live a little more spontaneously. Who knows?
Living this lifestyle has been a dream come true, even with the ups and downs. As with anything, we have had to adapt and continually alter our outlook as we figure out what works and what does not. However, I can confidently say that we are stronger partners, communicators, and parents because of the lessons we have learned and the journey of the past 6 months.
We are learning to live in the moment (Will is better at this than me, but both Bird and Daisy blow both of us out of the water), we are strengthening our faith and trusting we are meant to be on this path, and we are listening to God, to each other, and to ourselves (and making sure we make the time to stop and listen). Most of all, though, we are dreaming about what we want to see, what we want to teach Bird about God and life and being a responsible human in this world, and how we can capture this sense of adventure—how we can continue to nurture our adventure, if you will—and make it a part of our future, wherever that may be.
Nurturing Adventure 