Inspiration on CA-17
The thought first struck me as I drove the winding mountain road to the beach. It seemed sudden and extreme, but it immediately filled me with peace and certainty.
When the idea hit, I was headed to the coast for some time to clear my brain. This year of parenting and teaching had been particularly stressful, and I needed to be looking at waves, not lesson plans. Deep in my gut, I felt it–something would have to give soon, and if I didn’t vent the pressure, it would do that itself.
This new thought began the pressure release.
I texted my husband:
“Hey, how about we drop the house, move into an RV, homeschool, and travel full-time for a year?”
I love my husband. He is used to hearing my random ideas, and he is never dismissive. Overall, some of these thoughts have unexpectedly and majorly shaped our current life:
“Hey Honey, how about we sell our house and move to a totally different part of the country?”
“Hey Honey, how about I stop being a stay at home mom, and go back to school to become a teacher?”
“Hey Honey, let’s do Keto!”
Although the last one was short-lived, David has always been supportive of my ideas, and this one was no different. So my text was met with…
“Well…that’s different. Sounds interesting. Where is this coming from?”
Where it came from
To an outsider–and even to me–this plan seemed totally out of the blue. But the more I thought about it, the more I could see its roots.
First, I love teaching. The relationships, creativity, and impact truly fulfill me. But this past year, I was pulled in opposing directions: a career that I loved and my own child who increasingly needed extra support for behavior and learning challenges. The more I learned in my profession, the more I felt pulled to apply my experience toward my own children.
Second, we have also always been a traveling family. Every available break was spent exploring somewhere outdoors, from national parks to local camping spots. Nature transformed our attitudes and energy. Days felt different while communing with our innate environment. I liked who we became as we spent time outside together. What if we could flip the narrative and travel full-time, rather than settling for weekends?
Stepping out into whoknowswhat
So what if we could actually pull this RV thing off? I didn’t know how everything was going to come together. The uncertainty and effort of extreme change felt difficult, but it wasn’t paralyzing. If we could brave the transition, I just knew amazing things awaited us.
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