The five year plan

I'll miss sitting in my arbor

After we sell the house, R-pod, van and most everything else, we'll decide on a rig and begin our new life.  This will bring many new experiences our way.  At the moment we are leaning towards a motorhome pulling a small pickup truck with the motorcycle on it.  But this changes daily...sometimes hourly.

First of all, I'm really going to miss having my family, friends and neighbors close by.  That's the worst part. I have some great girl friends and enjoy lunches, movies and just talking with them, not to mention the plant shopping with Miss M.   We hope to alleviate this by spending the summer months back in our old stomping grounds so I can reconnect with them, as well as using social media to keep in touch.  We plan to spend a month or two in the area where the grandchildren are to be able to see them even more than we would have before.  If all goes well we'll spend such concentrated time with all of them they'll be glad to see us go.  Come to think about it, so far no one has begged us to please stay.  Hmmm.

Zelda will have to be sold, she's too large to travel with us on the road

Secondly, we're not used to having to pay a monthly fee to live anywhere.  That's going to be weird and I'm working this into the budget for the new life.  Ouch...budget.  That will really be different since Left Brain won't be making the extra money that I'm accustomed to spending.  I may have to really think about doing some shows more seriously to earn some extra cash.


Third is the laundry issue.  We don't want to add the weight and give up any space for a washer/dryer combo in the rig, so carrying laundry out will become our new standard.  Left Brain treated me to a day off recently to clean the canned ham while he took the laundry over and dealt with it.  It felt so good to get a grip on things again, sorting stuff out and putting everything back where it belongs.  Not to mention the thrill of clean undies!  We are definitely embarking on a simpler lifestyle here.

Fourth will be the constant moving.  I've been in the same area most my life and know my way around... finally.  The places we enjoy the most (state parks, etc) will only let you stay for two weeks.  Private parks allow you to stay longer and have better rates if you commit to the entire season.  It will be a little gypsy-like to be moving all the time.  Not that we'll necessarily be traveling all that far each time, but just the packing up and going part of it.

One of my favorite spots on the deck

There's a bittersweet quality to all of this.  The excitement of the unknown and the fear of where to go if something bad happens.  I've always loved the pioneer spirit, so this is my chance to travel into the great unknown....okay, with a GPS, AC and VISA card.  That's as close to the pioneer life as I want to get at this stage of life.


Long Live the Queen of the Road


 You have to let go of the life you have planned to have the life that is waiting for you.