It is ten minutes to seven as I write this. The sun has set, and it’s dark. We just ate an amazing Mexican dinner at La Fiesta in Waco, Texas. And I’m in bed.
I’ve noticed an interesting trend that started when we began this journey. We are adjusting to nature’s rhythms. When it’s dark, we’re ready for bed, but we’re also getting up around sunrise (which is thankfully not until around 6:30). Today it rained, and I caught myself listening to the melody rise to a crescendo on the roof of the RV. The last couple of days have been cold, so we added layers of clothing, snuggled under blankets and sleeping bags, and sipped hot beverages. I noticed the weather more.
River View RV Park Campground in Waco
Back home, I work in a basement that is stuffy hot in the winter as the heat overpowers the space. In the summer, I shiver. At home, I’m almost always indoors where the temperature doesn’t fluctuate more than a few degrees. (We don’t have thermostat wars in this phase of life.) I stay up too late under artificial lights tapping around on devices with too much blue light and groggily try to come to life when the alarm rings. It’s all terribly out of tune with nature.
As we sync with nature, I feel more rested and peaceful… most moments. It’s a comfortable pace of life, despite getting a lot done on the things that are really important to me. This probably has something to do with being outside more… feeling the wind on my face, smelling the cinnamon near Magnolia bakery, and seeing the plants stretching towards spring.
It seems like I am uprighting when I didn’t even realize how upside down I was.
Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating
the needless wants of life,
and the labors of life reduce themselves.
Edwin Way Teale
If you’d like to keep up with our travels and rambling thoughts, subscribe to have each post delivered to your inbox.
We have experienced rainy and cold weather with breaks of warm, bright sunshine this week in Waco, Texas.
We arrived on Monday and visited Magnolia Market at the Silos. ZA was really hoping for a cupcake, but the line extended around the corner and down the block, so Daddy bought her one at Walmart instead. The kids played outside in the beautiful play area, while Tim and I took turns browsing the market. It was such fun to be surrounded by peace and beauty after watching the show last week in Frisco — that’s a treat since we don’t have HGTV at home. I love when things seen on a screen come to life.
Tim surprised me with one of these metal cutouts from Magnolia Market. One of our wedding songs was Grow Old Along with Me. Ah, still sweet after 22+ years.
That evening we ate at a Mexican restaurant that has been here since the ‘60’s, La Fiesta. One of my favorite things about Texas just might be all the delicious Tex Mex. ZA even ate chips with salsa. As many burritos as I ate when the children were in utero, they just have to love this kind of ethnic food, too, right?
We’ve spent a couple of afternoons at the Central Library. Libraries usually have great wifi, and they are designed for hanging around for a few hours. This helps me work and get online. However, this library gets an A+ for being kid-friendly… actually, for just being friendly. From the greeting at the door to the introduction to the gerbils, the kids loved being here. They, like so many other kids, like to be on their tablets, but this library has Legos, pretend play toys, and librarians that engage with the kids so well that they actually quit starting at screens. Halleluiah! We left with our devices and our spirits charged.
One of a series of longhorn sculptures.
Brazos River Walk
Lover’s Leap park
Waco has a beautiful river walk along the Brazos River with an impressive series of longhorn bronze statues. The gray clouds parted for our day at the river, although A was still gloomy in the RV with the flu.
Magnolia Market
This town has been a surprise for me. Although I grew up just west of Ft. Worth, I haven’t spent much time in Waco, and I haven’t lived in Texas for nearly three decades. This was quite a find, and I’m glad we had the luxury of sticking around for most of the week. Next week, we’re off to explore another Texas city. Can you guess which one?
It started with a sore throat. Then, in the middle of the night, it turned into about half a dozen bouts of vomiting, mostly making the trash can. My son, A, had the flu.
A with the trash can and bucket waiting
The next morning, I felt really stuffy. I had a really hard getting up, even though I had slept for about 13 hours. My morning oatmeal didn’t taste good. Uh-oh.
Thankfully, mine didn’t develop past feeling yucky, and no one else seemed to even feel poorly. The scary thing about living together in 300 square feet is that you share almost everything, including germs. The cool thing about living together in 300 square feet is that you can clean the whole thing in about 30 minutes, and it’s easy to cover surfaces with Lysol.
That was Tuesday, and now, Friday, A is almost as good as new.
My fear was that five of us would be tripping over the dog at the same time trying to reach our one small bathroom with one hand covering our mouths. Instead, A slept through several days this week and the rest of us enjoyed the sites, smells and sounds of a new city.
Maybe we won’t all be quite in sync on this trip. At times, like this week with the flu, that’s beneficial. At other times, like when I’m trying to write and the rain keeps the restless kids inside, it creates challenges.
Like the weather, this trip is full of changes. I guess we can choose whether to splash in the puddles or sit inside and wish things were different. Which would you choose?
Sometimes we should express our gratitude for the small
and simple things like the scent of the rain,
the taste of your favorite food,
or the sound of a loved one’s voice.
Joseph B. Wirthlin
Subscribe if you would like these automatically delivered to your inbox.
P.S. I put this at the bottom of each post to buffer a little space between the post and the ads. I don’t pick the ads and some aren’t what I would choose
This is the first time we’ve spent an entire week all in one spot, and it was nice to land. For Tim and the kids, it was a slower pace, but for me, I had a workshop training last weekend and a homeschool conference this weekend, so it felt busier than it has in months.
Playing in puddles after the rain
But the very best part of the week was getting to visit my very good friend from college, Laurel, and her family. We were roommates and shared a lot of life in the houses we shared. I hadn’t physically seen her in about 20+ years, and this reminded me of why I liked her so much. Sipping coffee at a cozy coffee shop, chowing on chicken for lunch, and browsing through a vintage consignment mall were great experiences, but the thing that made the coffee comforting, the chicken tasty and the shopping a time of sharing was just talking with her. A true friend is one that it seems like time hasn’t even passed when you get together. (Hello to her parents, Mom & Dad!) Life is much better with strong friendships.
We also spent about half the week in the waiting room of Camping World getting repairs on the RV. (See the last post.) But the reward for the rain, cold, yellow jacket sting, and waiting was a spectacular sunset. I’ve often said that this is the thing I miss most about Texas.
May you also experience the sweetness of friendship, a reward for the wait, and at least one spectacular sunset, too.
“Live your life by a compass not a clock.”
– Stephen Covey
If you like these posts, subscribe to have them delivered to your inbox automatically.
It’s about time we introduce you to our home on wheels for six months or so. He’s a Georgie Boy Maverick, and Z picked out the name Joshua.
Joshua, our RV.
For those of you who know your Bible history of the Israelites, you know that Joshua led the young nation of Israel into the Promised Land after wandering around in the desert for 40 years. He was one of the 12 spies, and he and Caleb were the ones to describe the land as flowing with milk and honey. Naming our motorhome Joshua makes a nice metaphor for our trip, too, as we enter into our own version of the promised land.
But Joshua needed some repairs.
Finding a class C motorhome with the attic, the sleeping space over the cab, is challenging, and we looked for almost a year. Well, it’s not hard at all if you want to pay the cost of a house, but our budget just wasn’t that big. When we bought Joshua, we knew he needed some major work.
ZA’s sofa space.
Last week, we spent a lot of time at Camping World in Denton getting those repairs… most of them.
“That’s an expensive tent,” said Steve, the repairman, when he learned that we’ve been mostly living in campgrounds because we haven’t had running water. We knew we had a leak in the water lines, and it turns out we had several. The good news is that we didn’t have to worry about frozen pipes since we didn’t have water in them, but the generator didn’t work, and we had a propane leak, so we weren’t using that either. Our house batteries were toast, too.
The furnace worked, though, and with the below freezing weather, that has been important. It hasn’t been as rough as it sounds, but we have been basically camping with a comfy bed and a kitchen. (The campgrounds have showers and laundry.) Now, it feels like a palace with running water, a working oven and stove, and Steve even fixed the generator! I still have hopes of equipping it with solar power, but we’ll see if it is worth that.
The best part is that Camping World provides a service where they show you how to use your motorhome. Steve is not only great at RV repair work, he is a patient teacher, and he walked us through how to use everything in our motorhome and how to do the maintenance. We’re feeling much more confident now. While Tim and I did that, Lexi made sure the kids were comfy and entertained in the waiting room. We were there for two and a half days!
So, we’ve got almost everything put away and organized. All systems are now working. I’ve got my working schedule in place, despite being all off schedule this week. There’s more to do, but we have time to do it.
“Travel is only glamorous in retrospect”
Paul Theroux
If you like what you’re reading here, please subscribe and have it delivered to your inbox automatically.
Last week I had the great honor to attend a play therapy training in Denton, Texas. For those of you who don’t know much about me, I teach in a mental health counseling program, and my specialty area is play therapy. Play therapy began as a way to provide mental health services to children using the natural expressiveness of play and toys as the language of that expression.
During the last decade, I haven’t been working with kids, but I can’t imagine doing therapy without using these skills. That means that I use play therapy with adults, and the results are just amazing. It’s also a lot of fun. The book I am writing is all about how I teach using play therapy with adults.
Attending the training got me thinking about my own kids and how this trip might be impacting them. I have thought from the beginning that this will be a defining event in their childhood, something that they will hinge memories to help date them. I hope it is positive, and they realize how fortunate they are to be able to do this.
However, one of my concerns on this trip is that the constant moving around and not have a specific location that is home will be difficult for the children. While we emphasize that the motorhome is our house, and that it stays constant, it can still be unsettling to constantly be on the move. So for this blog, I decided to interview the kids and see what they think about traveling in a motorhome. Here are their thoughts about the trip.
Z is 8-years-old.
What have you enjoyed the most about our trip so far?
The beach because I liked playing in the water, and the entire trip, except for the cold.
What is your favorite thing that you brought on the trip?
My Bulbasaur because it was my first Pokémon.
What has been surprising to you?
Seeing the dolphin sand sculpture. It was so well made, how they made the fin and how they got it so smooth. It was just amazing.
What has been challenging?
Trying to sleep in the cold the first week. It was so cold the first day when we were in the campsite.
What do you wish could be different?
More organization space. It’s such a small sleeping space, and I can’t put all my stuff away without getting on A’s side. I have very little space and I can’t really move around in the attic.
What do you think people should know about taking a big trip in an RV?
Don’t bring a giant dog and a cat!
Where are you most looking forward to going?
I am most looking forward to seeing my cousin. Daddy is looking forward to Malibu.
If you could, would you choose to do this again?
Of course, but maybe some smaller trips. This is going to be for six months.
ZA is 7-years-old.
What have you enjoyed the most about our trip so far?
Playing with my stuffies and going to the beach. Seeing the cactus in Texas. Also, seeing those pretty pink flowers at the Blue Bell dairy.
What is your favorite thing that you brought on the trip?
My little one named Sparkle. [Her stuffed animal.]
What has been surprising to you?
Seeing your friend that was in college because I didn’t know if we were going to see her or not.
What has been challenging?
Walking the dog. When we crossed the road, Daddy helped me hold the leash.
What do you wish could be different?
Cleaning up the space so we have more room to walk, but I don’t want to get rid of my toys.
What do you think people should know about taking a big trip in an RV?
Keep the cabinets organized, like don’t put the electronics with the food and the food with the electronics. If the milk spills, the electronics won’t work anymore if they aren’t put away.
Where are you most looking forward to going?
Back to Tennessee.
If you could, would you choose to do this RV trip again?
Yes, because it’s fun and because it’s really fun.
A is 8-years-old.
What have you enjoyed the most about our trip so far?
Sunny, the dog. She’s nice.
What is your favorite thing that you brought on the trip?
Legos because they are Star Wars. I spent a lot of time building them. Also, Otter.
What has been surprising to you?
When we went to Camping World because there was a TV there.
What has been challenging?
I wish there was internet all over the world. Very good internet. It’s very hard to get on the internet because there isn’t a good connection.
What do you wish could be different?
I wish the internet could be better. I wish the RV had internet. That way, Mom could work and we could have fun all over the United States.
What do you think people should know about taking a big trip in an RV?
Don’t bring a giant tutti fruitti dog. That’s a dog that does toots. In a small space we all have to smell it.
Where are you most looking forward to going?
My cousin’s house.
If you could, would you choose to do this again?
No. No, erase that. Yes. I would like it because there are tons of internet places.
Our big backyard this week included Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. We drove a lot!
Sunday, we went to church in Florabama at an outdoor service on the beach. Even the bird on the string of lights above us joined in the singing. Speaking of God’s handiwork, despite mostly cloudy weather all week, we witnessed one gorgeous sunset over the Gulf of Mexico that might have been more impressive because of its rarity.
Monday, we drove most of the day but finally made it to the Lone Star State and boondocked at the visitor’s center. There Tim saw an adult racoon and baby kitten sharing a meal together. Ah, if our mealtimes were as peaceful.
We spent Tuesday in Brenham, Texas, and for those of you that aren’t from these parts, that’s the home of Blue Bell ice cream, so we had to visit the creamery. I think you can learn something about our personalities by the flavor of ice cream we selected: A is plain old vanilla, Z had chocolate three ways, ZA chose birthday cake, Tim might be wired on coffee, and I am a little nutty with pecan praline.
It was fun to learn about factories, how many people it took to make the magic happen (more than 100), and see the conveyor belts with the upside-down cartons of ice cream (the top is wider than the bottom and is thus more stable). We enjoyed a playground and the flat pastureland there, too.
Then, we drove north through cow town to land for the rest of the week in Denton, home of the University of North Texas, where I attended a play therapy training for three days. We made a pitstop at a Czech bakery for cinnamon rolls and awesome brisket sandwiches. Since I grew up just west of Ft. Worth, I’m back at my old stomping grounds. As nice as it is to visit, Tennessee is now home for me.
We stayed at Wagon Master RV Park, which has an alpaca farm, and the pasture was right next to our RV spot. We’ve been learning about where alpacas live, what they like, and their famous coats.
We also experienced our first serious storm since moving into a house on wheels. The wind shook us awake, and the rain poured in the open windows and roof vents that provided such a nice breeze when we went to bed. By morning, it was a teeth-chattering 30 degrees. Thankfully, the hail missed our campground. We are a lot more aware of the weather than we were back home in our climate-controlled house or in my work office in the basement on campus.
We’ve got an exciting week coming up, and I can’t wait to tell you about it.
“Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.”
– Lovelle Drachman
If you want to keep up with our travels (posted about a week later), then subscribe to have each blog post delivered to your inbox.
I still can’t believe that I get to live this life. I am camping next to the ocean (just a short stroll on the boardwalk over the canal and wetlands, and it begins next to our RV). My kids watched the sun rise from our bedroom window this morning. We’ve seen all kinds of wildlife, and it’s actually in the wild.
“Man cannot discover new oceans
unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
– Andre Gide
I just wrote out all my commitments requiring me to be somewhere between here and July. There were two. My calendar hasn’t been this free since I started using a planner. Maybe since I started kindergarten.
I am truly living the dream.
That’s how it started. It started as a dream that brewed from discontent. I was too busy, too stressed, and too scattered. For a couple of years, I have been saying I was going to rebel. That was my joking way of admitting that despite all I loved in my life, I needed the pace to be different. I didn’t know what that meant, but it meant something, a big change.
I wanted to enjoy my kids at this fun age. I wanted to have memorable experiences. I wanted to wake up delighted to greet another great day.
Instead, I woke up bleary-eyed from staying up too late and tackled another day of trying to balance the roles of wife, mother, professor, homeschool teacher, counselor and writer. I really liked most of the individual pieces of my life – my job, my family, the opportunities to write – but I had too many things scheduled on my crowded calendar. I was still moving forward, but it all blurred together, and it felt less intentional than my big priorities would suggest.
“I don’t know how,” I said repeatedly, “but I’m going to rebel.”
At my lowest point, after being sick for far too much of a year and with my shoulders hitched to my ears with bands of stress and grief, I thought that change would mean changing jobs. I hadn’t made any movement to find another job, but I had almost decided that it might be time to consider my options during the Christmas break of ‘17. Then, an option I didn’t even know to consider landed in my inbox. It was an application for sabbatical from my university. I had just ticked my sixth year there, earned promotion, and met the requirements to apply.
It came with an important condition. If I were selected for sabbatical, I must agree to stay for the following academic year after the sabbatical. Also, it was a release from university responsibilities to work on a big project.
And that is when things started lining up. I had been approached by a publisher to write a book (another dream), and I didn’t really want to leave Lipscomb University anyway. Best of all, the application encouraged applicants to not work on campus. I had been pipe dreaming (as my gypsy blood grandparents call it) about working and living in an RV. Suddenly, I had an idea that sounded amazing to me.
What if I were selected for a paid sabbatical (which would provide funding and benefits) while I wrote a book (with access to university research materials) and took an epic trip (providing the adventure and change of pace I was craving) in an RV (granting close family time, incredible homeschool opportunities and simple living)? What if indeed!
I still can’t fathom what kind of employer would deem it beneficial to the organization to grant an employee five months off… paid! (Since my contract doesn’t include summers, and we have a nice Christmas break, I’m off for a total of seven months before I return to teach a couple of summer intensive classes.)
I think the idea is that my work builds the university’s reputation, too. There is also incredible wisdom in the idea of a Sabbath rest, and this is my seventh year. I am certainly very grateful, and I’m confident I will return with renewed energy and ideas for my work. And, it is a relational place to work, where it feels like family, so what benefits one benefits the whole.
If you want to know more, check out www.lipscomb.edu and tell them Dr. Denis’ sent you. They have an excellent mental health counseling program!
Which brings me back to the beach. My shoulders have released from my ears and relaxed. I get to write, but I also get to rest and recharge.
Yes, this is living the dream.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope it inspires and encourages you. Remember to subscribe if you want it automatically delivered to your inbox.
My plan is to post twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays, I’ll share my musings for the week, and on Fridays, I’ll update you on where we’ve been, for those who like to keep up with our travels. I’ll also post more photos on Fridays.
We left on Saturday afternoon, January 26th and drove all the way to Mobile, AL. We rested in a Pilot parking lot (that’s called boondocking, when you park for free, but aren’t hooked up to water or electricity, and we hope to do that a lot, but in more scenic settings). Then, we headed for the beach. Guess who got the dirtiest?
A
Z
ZA
We stayed a couple of nights at an RV park full of snow birds. It had an indoor pool, which thrilled the kids.
Our view from the RV.
Nestled in for the night.
Then, we stayed a couple of nights at Gulf State Park. It’s fantastic with lots of boardwalk trails across the marsh. We’ve been adjusting to daylight more, which means getting up about 6:30 and going to bed between 7:00 and 8:00.
Z loves to hike, and we’ve been walking almost every day this year.
Sunrise outside our bedroom window.
One of the most interesting things is all the native wildlife we see. We did get to see alligators in the nature center, not at the camp site, which suited me just fine. But osprey nests, sand dollars, fish, jellyfish, and about a dozen brown pelicans that we could almost touch were great learning experiences for our homeschoolers.
Heron
Owl at the Nature Center
Brown Pelican
Alabama has been great, but it’s time to unhook our electric plug and chug on to another state. Find out where next week.
“It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.”
– Henry David Thoreau
If you want to keep up with our adventures, make sure to subscribe and you’ll get all the updates automatically.
Once again we attempted a maiden voyage with the RV. This time, though, there was no safety net. After an expensive locksmith, we had keys to every compartment. The RV was completely packed, well, rather chaotically thrown together with three kids doing the last-minute push to carry things thing out that we thought we needed.
Spoiler alert: we didn’t need all the things we brought, like the popsicle mold. Really? Are we going to make popsicles enough to warrant the space it takes to store it in one of the two precious cabinets? Or electric blankets? We have a furnace and it heats nicely. The only time we could use them is when we are boondocking without electricity… but then they’re just blankets. And don’t get me started about the extra-large dog crate that blocked the entire walkway (or even the smaller cat carrier). We can’t possibly leave that inside, and she’s on a leash outside. We also didn’t need the light saber, the assortment of hair products, the package of balloons, all three boxes of sandwich bags or the vacuum cleaner. We’ll be doing a lot of lightening up.
The day we officially moved into the RV, the housecleaners deep cleaned the home we were leaving, the carpets were steam cleaned, and the house was ready for our AirBnB co-owner to work her cozy decorating magic. After a very long day working on the house, I met the rest of the family at the state park to sleep in the RV together.
I was nervous.
What would happen if it was a disaster?
It was really cold outside.
But we were warm inside our tiny house on wheels. We could hardly walk with the mess – the pet crates for the chocolate lab and the fluffy cat, and bins of clothes and toys – and it was worth it. We were really doing this!
The next morning, we saw several deer sauntering through the campground. We were living in nature and out of the city. My morning coffee tasted amazing, maybe because I took the time to taste it. I kept smiling.
We’ve got a lot of work to get this space organized, but it’s going to be a lot quicker than the house. We don’t have clear plans about where we are going and when, but I’m even looking forward to that. We are starting with the beach, and we’re all excited about it. We haven’t figured out water, sewage or leveling strategies. We don’t know all the quirky things about this used rig yet. We don’t even know all that we don’t know. I really want to equip it with solar power, but how do you line up services on the road?
It’s going to be an adventure, and the adventure has finally begun. Tomorrow we leave Nashville until July. I’m glad you’re on the journey with us. Feel free to leave a comment or question below. I’ll answer when we have internet access.
State Line: Huntsville, AL rest area. The Sabbatical adventure has officially begun.
“And then there is the most dangerous risk of all — the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” – Randy Komisar
Sabbatical Space 