This week we did something big—we celebrated our one year
anniversary or “nomadiversary” as we like to call it. So, I guess it is official, we are in this
thing for the long haul. There is no
looking back. Honestly, it feels like we
are just now getting into the swing of things.
Our first year was that of adjustment, understanding and finding our
bearings on this new life. Tom and I
realized the other day that we have been talking a lot about what next year
will bring and how incredible it will be—places we will see, new
experiences—but caught ourselves laughing at the fact that we weren’t referring
to next year, as in 2016. We now refer
to a new year as July 28, the anniversary of the day we left it all
behind. I guess this means from now on our
New Year celebration will forever be July 28, the day that we truly started to
live life.
The question we keep getting (especially from family) is “when,
and where, do you plan to settle down?”
Well, honestly, we are settled…right into this new way of living. This isn’t a trip. This isn’t a goal. It is the life we are embracing for this
season, however long we want that to be. We are not interested in going back to the
“sticks ‘n’ bricks.” We’ve been there,
done that and left it for a reason. I
know most people can’t understand. And,
that’s quite alright. They think of our
journey as us living in our trailer, but that is such a small portion of this
lifestyle. It isn’t about the fact that
we stay in various places, or live in a 28 foot trailer. It is about the freedom to live life without
any hindrance experiencing all the world has to offer. This includes things like spending time
together, enjoying local culture, giving back to the community, seeking out the
deeper more important aspects of life, learning new hobbies, slowing down,
enjoying the simple moments and hopefully marking some things off of a bucket
list. Most of these things I feel our
society has started to tragically neglect.
I’m not even sure I can sum up our first year. It was filled with every kind of emotion
possible. We have had lots of highs and lots of lows. We rolled through 15 states experiencing everything from frolicking in waterfalls to judging a BBQ contest in Texas. We were blessed to give our time and hearts to communities along the way that have touched our souls immeasurably. We embarked on the world of homeschooling, which was a tremendous adjustment to say the least both for us and the kids! We even
bought and sold our very first real estate “flip,” paving the way for our continued travels. We took this step out on faith, leaving our
jobs behind in hopes that we could make things work for ourselves. It was thrilling, terrifying and unpredictable. But the truth is, we are thriving like never
before. God has really opened doors in
our life to friendships and places that we would have never otherwise known. It took the first year to learn to let go and live for each day. We used to try to force everything to happen in life.
Success. A better family life. Peace.
Learning. Even spirituality. It is when we
started letting go and learning to live one day at a time in faith and simplicity that we felt a real sense of rejuvenation.
Our kids amaze me.
They are learning who they are and spending moments with friends and
family that they will remember forever. There
have been so many firsts! It’s
remarkable. We see them discovering
themselves and starting to live with curious wonder-filled minds. This has taken a full year of adjustment for all of us, but to see them coming into their own is
pretty incredible. We seem them enjoying
life, building new long lasting friendships, spending time with all kinds of
family and flourishing more than we could have imagined. They are even growing closer together as
siblings, although some days are better than others. It wasn’t an easy at first,
especially for Tyler, but this year I’ve seen him grow so much into an amazing
young man who is starting to realize his own dreams. I know Tyler will accomplish anything he puts
his mind to and this lifestyle is confirming that. I think he is starting to really understand
why his parents jumped off the edge to live life this way. Haley was born to be a nomad. She is free spirited and loves the
spontaneity of this life. She grows more
confident in herself every day and she has opened up and come out of her shell
so much this past year. She is literally
making friends across the entire U.S. and having the time of her life.
As far as Tom and I, this year has brought us closer than
ever before. We are rediscovering our
life as a couple. I look back and think,
we were going through the motions so much in our busy life before, it is almost
like rediscovering, or uncovering, both our individuality and our marriage. He is my best friend and we are so much more
than husband and wife—we are a team in everything we do. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be
doing life with.
Even though we have only visited 15 states, we have
concluded that every state is different and unique—the culture, the people, the
landscape and it leaves us craving more.
As we drive through each little town, we find ourselves dreaming and thinking... “could
we live here?” I’m beginning to think we
can live anywhere, but we want to live everywhere. No one particular place is worth leaving all
others behind.
So, where do we go from here? Well, we hope big things are in store for us
this next year as we roll into the west.
The past few months have been filled with real estate flips (we’re
working on our second) which has kind of consumed us, but hey, we do have to fund our lifestyle! Now, we are
aching to hit the road again and get focused on meeting our fellow RV community,
ramping up our “Not So” Random Acts of Kindness Project and finally hoping to
explore some of the wild west that we have been waiting to see for so long. God only knows where this path will lead. One thing is for sure, we are grateful for
the support, encouragement and kind words from our entire community. And, so, on we roll into year number two.
