Saturday, April 3, 2010

Adjusting to our new life (Golden, CO)

Let me first start with a word of thanks to all of those who provided encouragement, support and reassurances through comments and private messages from my last blog entry. Everything that everyone said was absolutely true. All change is hard and this transition is no different, nor did I expect it to be. Every life style holds its share of problems that need to be dealt with; this lifestyle is no different. Sometimes I simply need a reminder. It seemed like it was all hitting at once and I felt very overwhelmed. We have a limited time here in Colorado and there's still a lot to do, but it all will get done somehow.

We got our power problem fixed on Wednesday. The tech made another housecall, much to my relief, and had it up and running within 30 minutes. The next task of the day was to get the rig moved. We pretty much had the inside ready to go, but I was a little anxious about hitching up. Would we remember everything that needed to be done? Well eventually, we figured it all out. It took awhile, but we just took our time and methodically thought through each step. We had a bit of difficulty getting the hitch locked in place, until we remembered that we needed to lower the front jacks first before locking the hitch. OK, we won't be forgetting that next time. Before we settled in our new spot, we went over to the dump station and emptied our tanks. No problems there.

So now the fun of parellel parking was upon us. We had the camp host and one of the fairgrounds staff members helping us, but to be honest I think we could have figured it out better ourselves. Don't get me wrong, they were helpful but didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know. It was a lot of trial and error, but we finally got it in after several attempts. All in all, it was very good practice.

I think we may practice again next week after the high school rodeo is gone. We want to move back to our original site. I don't like our current site because it's right along the driveway and it seems significantly more noisy than our other space was. Another reason for wanting to move is that we plan on having an open house next weekend for our family, friends, former coworkers, former neighbors and anyone else who is curious about our new home. The original site had a picnic pavilion and parking directly across from it so I think it will work better.

The last couple of days have been quieter and we've been able to relax a bit. Tracy has been able to spend the last couple of nights at home (she was previously staying with her mom helping her heal from her recent health issues) so that has helped calm me also. I feel lost when she's not by my side. We've been able to get some of our lingering errands done and we even had a few free hours this afternoon to watch the rodeo and then grab a quick nap.

We also have one more family member home with us. Both Jasper, our cat, and Hunter, our greyhound, went to stay with my mom when we moved out of our stix n brix. We brought Jasper home on Thursday night. He adjusted quickly and spends most of his time in front of the fireplace. Hunter is still with my mom, but we plan to bring him down in a couple of days. It'll probably take him a little longer to relax, but hopefully he'll be excited to be with us. He's been very confused with us showing up at mom's house and then leaving again without him. I don't think he'll like the steps into the RV, but he'll get used to them eventually. He was the same way with our old RV. We all adjust sooner or later, right?

My mom has been a huge help with the animals. I can't imagine how much more hectic it would have been with them here amongst all of the chaos. They would have been stressed and that would have increased my stress. I already had enough of my own! So thank you mom and Virg!!

It will be nice to have our whole family together once again. And then we can all work on adjusting to our new life and figuring out what the new normal is. And while we're figuring that all out, I will work hard to focus on one day at a time and not worry so much about the tomorrows. It will all work out...it always does.

5 comments:

  1. I know what you mean about the dog. Our dog Fred (Beagle) could not figure out what was going on. As people would come to get furniture out of the house we would put him in the 5'ver. Each time he came back in the house there was less and less furniture until it was all gone. We would just look at us like what is going on here, are you leaving me? He is now a happy dog at the campground, a big pet area to roam in (on a leash) and he loves it. Soon we will be down the road to a new area and I think Fred will adjust just fine.

    Stay Safe

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  2. nothing but a bump in the road... many good time await you both...

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  3. Sounds like you have a great Mom, and she probably enjoyed being with the "grandkids". Enjoy yourselves while you finish getting organized and establish your new lifestyle.

    Have a good week ahead.

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  4. Hi Connie & Tracy,
    First, I apologize for being absent from comments for awhile...didn't want you to think I didn't care. Just got busy and time has a way of slipping by.
    I want to commend you for being so honest in your recent post. We just started full-timing and I can sooooo relate to everything you spoke about. There is a huge learning curve and much adjustment time to go through. We too had our ups and downs and our maiden voyage was rough. So much so, I hope it is a long time before we go the same route we took to Texas. I too found out my great job of purging was just not good enough. I still get frustrated when I need something and realize I sold it in a yard sale or it is in "who knows what" box in our storage unit. My comfort came from others who told me that all of this is normal. They went through the same things. I was not alone. Thats when I felt that wonderful connection with the folks in this lifestyle. Wonderful people...there to help and support.

    We don't consider ourselves veterans by any stretch but I can tell you that this lifestyle is soooo worth it. Those rough edges get smoothed out and you begin to really enjoy what it is all about. The freedom is awesome. Hang in there...you are doing great. We are all out here cheering you guys onward.

    Hugs,
    Mike & Gerri(http://freedom2roll.blogspot.com)

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  5. Ladies you are doing FANTASTIC hang in there, remember learning to ride a bike, to swim, to drive a car you will get there and it will be so worth it!

    We too travel with pets, two dogs and our one big dog does not like the RV steps, we have 4 a Big Horn 5th wheel. We purchased online a ramp that collapses and we store in the basement and it works great! Please be careful with your furry friend, those thin legs can get caught in the stairs and there goes a huge vet bill when the price of a ramp $100 would ease the stress and pain. Just another thing to consider.
    We are not full timers but our pets LOVE our weekend camping trips and had no problem adjusting.
    Keep up the good work and be good to yourselves!
    Susan

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