know about. As a present for me, he had painted a candle and, on the back, wrote “Our Deepest fear is not we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us…. let your light shine, mom”. Again, I cried and shared with him how perfectly timed and meaningful this was to me. This piece of art is hanging in my bathroom, and I read it every day. It inspires me to live my life’s purpose and be the light. Even when it scares me. I have no doubt, being powerful beyond measure scared him, at times. The children will lead the way…
Even though football ended, the RV remained in the family and has become a source of joy. An investment I never thought I would make has taught me that I don’t particularly like camping, but I love glamping.
This now rather old RV has been to South Dakota, Nebraska, Idaho, Montanna, Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, and many places in between. It has traveled hills, mountains, alongside rivers and shown us scenery you don’t see from an airplane. It has brought me closer to nature and taught me to slow down and smell the roses.
This most recent trip taught me teamwork. This was its maiden trip with John and I, alone. And I couldn’t have been more excited! Every engaged couple needs to take a 1900-mile RV trip to ensure you are truly compatible. Thank God, we passed the test without one altercation.
That is not to say there wasn’t stress. It was how we handled the stress that mattered. The first leg of the journey was the hardest. We traveled from Chicago to Nashville. Our longest leg. As we were approaching our first camp, it started raining and night fell. I was driving. Not the best combo. The blinkers engage a camera that shows your blind spots during the day. At night in the rain all you see in the camera is black and bubbles. The lines on the road were non-existent. I felt like I was driving blind. John, a firefighter, used to driving a rig this big, offered many times to take over. I felt compelled to carry on. He was impressed and supportive. And nervous.
We arrived safely. We might have taken out a gate at the RV park, but we came clean on that, and his brother met us for a night reprieve as he journeyed south to meet his family. We finally could relax and play cards and chill. Mission accomplished. Step one.
We made it to Florida the next day. We spent 1.5 hours in a traffic jam that literally didn’t move. Patience is our friend. And having a bathroom is a godsend. We felt for the folks in cars that didn’t and were even surprised we had no knocks on the door for our facilities. Or water. We even felt guilty for not offering…maybe we should
have??? When we finally arrived to our luxury RV site in Navarre, Florida we were so pleased with our location. I called this park as we were planning the trip because the website indicated it was full. The woman on the other end of the line said “amazingly, we have a cancelation of a spot on the beach”. Sold!!!