We're coming up on the three year anniversary of when our lives fell apart. Grief is weird.
One minute you're completely numb, just going through the motions, and the next you just want to escape to somewhere that allows you to find yourself again. You crave anything that's not "normal". We own an old farmhouse on 20 acres and three years ago I couldn't fathom the thought of doing the things that used to once bring me joy. So much so that we decided to list our home for sale and hit the road full time. It took everything in me just to get out of bed everyday- I had zero interest anymore in gardening, mowing my lawn, or sitting under my favorite apple tree. I thought I was ready to sell it, but when we received our first offer my soul was crushed at the thought of letting it go. I don't know if it was the thought of saying goodbye to all of the dreams we originally had for our property, if it's because it's the first house we've been in long enough to make solid memories in, or if it's because under my apple tree is where I feel closest to my dad, but I just could not accept that offer. We felt horrible for getting our realtor involved in a web of our emotions, but we ended up listening to our gut and removed our home from the market.
RV life is everything we didn't know we needed. It took going completely out of our comfort zone to realize what we truly want our life to look like. Although we love this sense of adventure and freedom, we now realize how much we really love and miss growing our own food. Prior to RV life we were always so incredibly busy and always pulled in a million different directions, that we never had the opportunity to homestead at the level we had always dreamed of. RV life has taught us how to slow down and prioritize what is truly important in life. For us, this was a healing journey, not a forever destination. Although I don't think we'll ever be completely healed, I am proud to be able to say that we truly miss parts of our old life. The same lifestyle we originally wanted to run from and the same walls that felt suffocating at one point. It took RV life for us to be able to reflect and comprehend that our home is not our trauma and our busy schedules were nobody's fault except for our own.
This lifestyle has allowed us the opportunity to explore and rediscover our passions that were originally buried under stress and the 9-5 grind. We celebrated our one year nomadiversary in September and we've decided as a family that we will be coming off the road full time next July. We're all so excited for one more year of RV adventures (we have a lot of epic adventures planned), but we're also very excited to finally make our homesteading dreams a reality. This lifestyle has taught us to enjoy the journey. For the first time in our lives we’re not only excited for the chapter we’re currently in, but also for the one that is to follow.
We never really knew what the heck to do with our property. We always knew we wanted to grow our own food, but we never knew what to do with the rest of our land. For the past year, we’ve been visiting farms and homesteads across the country, getting advice, taking notes, and dreaming bigger than we ever have. We’ve compiled lists of our favorite ideas from across the country and we hope to combine them to create something truly phenomenal. We hope to create a space that will bring us additional peace, joy and a sense of accomplishment. We can't wait to share with you what we have up our sleeves, but we've decided to keep our future plans to ourselves for just little longer. However, I can say with confidence that we will be doing life differently when we return home. Things that used to drown us no longer hold space in our lives. Our focus will continue to be on slowing down, growing and healing as a family, and continuing to chase our dreams.
Our girls are so excited to be involved in dance again, to begin a 4-H journey, and to revisit local attractions that were once a family tradition. Rick and I are excited to watch our favorite sunsets and to finally have the time and mental space to breathe new life into our old farmhouse. My hope is that my girls will continue to be homeschooled, but I've always told them that I will support their decision to return to public school if that's what they desire to do. As of right now, they're turned off by the early wake-ups and the amount of homework public schools offer, and every fiber of my being hopes they continue to feel that way.
We owe so much to this nomadic lifestyle and we'll always be grateful that we decided to jump all in. This lifestyle has left, and continues to leave, such a lasting impression on us that we won't ever completely stop traveling. Once a nomad, always a nomad at heart! There's absolutely no way that we can 100% give this lifestyle up now that we've experienced it. It's just going to look a little different for us after next year. I have no doubt in my mind that we'll continue to cross paths with all of the incredible friends we've met along the way.
Grief and healing are weird. Seasons change, and energy shifts. One thing is for certain though, we will continue to bloom wherever the winds may take us.
Here’s to one more year on the road! It’s going to be a good one! 🥳🥳
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