Friday, April 29, 2011

Thank You

Current Location: Fairview, OR

Thank you, once again, for your kind words, support and suggestions. We have taken them all to heart and are working on our attitudes. And ultimately, we know we have nothing to complain about. We have our health, we have our home, and most importantly we have each other. With all the recent devestation and loss of life in the southeast, it seems so petty to find issue with any aspect of our life. We are extremely grateful for everything we have.

We are doing much better. We are still working to find peace in our current situation, but have also started planning what comes next. We are eager to continue on with the journey we started. We have agreed that it is too soon to give it up, nor do we want to give up. We haven't even given ourselves a chance to succeed, or fail for that matter.

Speaking of failure, that is one of the things that I found myself fearing. As we were talking through our feelings, I mentioned that I felt we had something to prove. Like so many of you, we had our share of naysayers. We also had a lot of people who were living vicariously through us and cheering us on. I guess I felt pressure to be successful for all of these people. And with the pressure to succeed, frequently the fear of failure joins in. But the only people we have anything to prove to is ourselves.

The other day I heard this quote by Samuel Beckett:

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

And it hit me. There's really nothing to fear. When we started out, we really had no agenda other than to experience life. There's no right or wrong. The only failure we could have had is if we didn't try in the first place. From here on out, as long as we're true to ourselves, it can only be successful. If we try something and it doesn't feel right, then it's ok to admit that and try something different. One of the best things about this lifestyle is its flexibility. Sometimes it's hard to remember that a seasonal job is not a career. Renting an RV site is not a long-term investment.

I find it kind of funny now, but one of the things that freaked me out is that this park is about 70% long-term residents. And by long-term I mean years, some upwards of 20 years. Although a small section of the park is reserved for short-term guests, overall the park has more of a mobile home park vibe (although the managers are very strict about the appearance so it doesn't look like a trailer park). I felt sucked in, as if I were never going to be able to leave. Over the last few weeks, I've heard multiple times "I thought I was going to travel too, but I stopped here and never left.". All of a sudden, I feared that would be us. Was this our new life? This definitely wasn't what I signed up for!

It now seems somewhat ridiculous admitting to this. Of course this isn't our life. It's difficult to extricate ourselves from the illusion because we're not surrounded by other RVers. Our neighbors are all stationary who just happen to live in RVs. Most of them don't choose to be mobile though. Our coworkers are all in long-term jobs/careers (I will have one other workamper who will be joining the office staff in late May so maybe that will help). We seem to be the anomoly, even in a so-called RV park.

The feelings we've had lately are ones that we never would have ever imagined. This life is full of surprises. But we'll continue to learn, as we do from each and every experience. Although we don't always understand, we know that these are all necessary lessons that we must work through.

So we will continue at our snail's pace for now, but will be eagerly awaiting the day that we can put the pedal to the metal, or at least shift out of first gear!

In closing, I would like to remember all those who were impacted by the recent storms. Hopefully, the wild weather is done with for awhile, but it is yet another reminder that nothing in this life can be taken for granted. Live your life today, for there may be no tomorrow.

10 comments:

  1. When we were in Florida for the winter, we were in a campground that was mostly park models. The people came for 6 months, every year and they all knew each other. They were nice, but we felt very isolated and not a part of the crowd. We moved to a different campsite where there were just rv's and the whole vibe changed. These were people like us, and we had much more in common with them. I can't tell you what a difference it made. Those permanent rv parks aren't the same at all as a regular campground.

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  2. Good to hear you both thinking more positively about the future. In time, I'm sure you'll end up doing exactly what you wished for.

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  3. This campground is just a new learning experience for you. You are learning what kinds of parks you don't like. I think that is a very important lesson that we all have to learn when we first start out. I look back a couple of years and find I now have a very different perspective of campgrounds and RV life in general. I've learned what I really like, what I can tolerate, and what I won't put up with. Great lessons. So hang in and learn everything you can so you will be ready to move on when you can.

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  4. Sounds to me you are on the right thinking track and though our paths are never smooth, I think how we think makes the bumps a little easier to take. :)

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  5. Good attitude adjustment! At least you are in Oregon for the best season of the year! I hope you get a chance to see some of the really great places the Portland and Columbia Gorge areas have to offer...and still hope we get a chance to meet you one of these fine days!

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  6. We fortunately found out very early in our Snow Birding RVing lifestyle that RV Parks of any kind were not for us. It's just the way we are & we are very content with that.

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  7. Being that we haven't had internet for awhile
    I've missed your previous post. I am so sorry you are struggling with "the dream." I think everyone struggles with what their dream looks like at some time or other. We did!
    It sounds like you have done a great job of regrouping and moving forward. Remember your current campground is not permanent for you....you can and will move down the road. This is just a bump in the road and you guys will get through it. Hang in there!

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  8. I like your blog. Thanks.
    michael
    http://RV0777.blogspot.com

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  9. I've read your back posts with great interest, as we are reaching the one year mark since we sold everything and went on the road permanent.

    We work on the road at our own business, so our scenery changes weekly, our problem is more one of, when and where can we stop for a while and not work?

    We are leasing a lot right on the Mississippi this year and we missed staying at it when we first came up from Florida because of flooding, so we turned inland and just filled the weeks with more work.

    Now we have been doing Events back to back for over a month and we would love to take a break.

    Two weeks from now we will, and I am so excited about it, I wouldn't care if it was a Walmart parking lot!(not really, being silly...)

    The reason I'm jotting this down for you is to remind you there is such a thing as too much adventure too....we've been in some lovely remote spots lately, but we didn't get a chance to enjoy it because we were set up and too busy!

    I want to let you know our thoughts are with you and hoping something nice pops up for you to get you moving again!

    That's the wonderful thing about our lives, you never know what is going to happen, there
    is every chance there may be something wonderful just around the bend!

    Full Time Road Warriors

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  10. I have that same fear moochdocking here in my mother's driveway. It has shade, electric, good water, dumpage, and a sparkly swimming pool, and we have no departure date in mind. I'm starting to check the tires to make sure they're still round.

    Roxanne

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