July 18, 2022
I rarely have problems sleeping but,
tonight I woke at 3:30am unable to fall back asleep. Maybe it’s the anticipation of starting my long awaited blog…..or maybe it’s just the long list of things to get done. Odds are it’s the latter since the idea of this blog merely started less than 36 hours ago. So why the blog? Well during a wonderful family gathering celebrating my parents, we visited with many family members that we don’t get to see often enough. The number one topic of my interactions was “so I hear you’re moving…” which was followed by “ yes we bought 19 acres and will eventually build. We are building a pole barn and going to live in an RV.” Most reactions were similar….astonishment, surprise, laughter…. and many taking odds that I won’t last long. The best was my cousin’s husband Pat who’s spent most of his career in the RV industry, who had prior knowledge of our plans and first words to me were something like “ I don’t see you lasting very long in an RV”. And then my cousin Erin who’s reaction was shear amusement and disbelief. My cousin Lauren said “You should do a blog so we can all keep up with how you are handling it”. I found the thought funny but maybe somewhat therapeutic, so here we go.
My family knows me well. This idea of living in an RV and roughing it a bit is really not in my nature. I don’t like camping, not even glamping. My name wouldn’t be the first on a list to do something like this….not even sure my name would make the first couple pages of the list! I would give you the shirt on my back and do anything for anyone in need, but I’m a bit materialistic. I like nice things, love my 5000+ sq ft home with pool that we’ve been in for 22 yrs, am a snob about any hotel that I stay at, love my Thermador range that is about as expensive as a car, love my many shoes and the list goes on. I’ve worked very hard in my life for all “the stuff”. Although I’ve worked hard and spent a lot of time away for work, I was always able to be with my family and attend all the kids events and coach their sports. I didn’t miss much, just didn’t sleep much. Thank goodness I had Greg and my parents through the years to help in my absence. Then 2020 happened. When most people think of 2020, they think of how Covid stopped their world. When I think of 2020, I think of my life before heart surgery (BHS) and my life after heart surgery (AHS). BHS I didn’t sit down much and was go go go 18 hours a day. Greg’s synapsis of me…. I don’t know how to relax and the only time I would shut down would be on the vacations we would typically take each year (one at the beach and one or two at our cabin in Tennessee). Even then my computer was always with me. AHS I barely left the couch for months, granted Covid hit a few weeks after my release from the hospital so no one was going anywhere anyway. Perhaps Covid was a blessing for me because I really had to stay home and recover. I started working from home part time again about 5 weeks after my surgery. This would have been unthinkable to me BHS….five weeks not working at all… absolutely not possible! Funny how things can change on a dime. I didn’t think a single thought about work for those five weeks. It took me three or four weeks just to be able to shower by myself and wash my own hair. It was clearly time to slow down.
So back to the RV. Greg has the ability to talk to anyone and outwardly would appear incredibly social. Actually though he’s a homebody and would like to be out “in the boonies” with limited social interaction. He loved the Tennessee cabin because of its “isolation”. He could be there for days and not leave the cabin at all. Me on the other hand, couldn’t sit still for more than a day. I would have to “run errands” or go shopping or any other excuse to keep me on the go.
As we planned for downsizing once Jenna was in college, we bought 19 acres of farm land to eventually build on. Greg’s criteria and mine were a bit different when searching for the land. We both wanted it to be inexpensive while still being a good long term investment. He wanted to be away from civilization while I need to be 15 minutes from Target. Seriously, I like my Target or at least I did before they started the remodel. We found 19 acres of great farm land that wasn’t too far but just far enough with plans to eventually build our next home. We spent a lot of time planning what we wanted, thinking about future investment property and where we might want to eventually retire. We talked to a couple builders in 2021 and concluded that we need to downsize but even that would cost a fortune right now. We weren’t wanting to spend a fortune to build a “forever house” in Indiana. Partially because we don’t want to be in Indiana forever. Post retirement plans probably involve a house in Indy if any of our kids are still here, but we want to spend our retirement elsewhere.
As we considered the new build, the housing market continued to climb. We wanted to capitalize on the market knowing that prices will likely begin to depress, so we began the list of what needs to get done to get it ready. The largest project was to finish the basement that stored 22 years of sh*t and finish the upstairs bathroom that was roughed in but we never felt the need to finish. Doesn’t seem like a lot to do, but with everyday life and jobs, it is. And Greg worked on the idea of building a pole barn and living in an RV while doing a new build. I can’t recall when he started working on me with the RV idea but my initial reaction was the same as most of my family members, I wouldn’t survive. Part of my concern was our two pups. They are both about 100 pound German Shepards, not exactly lap dogs. The thought of both of them running through an RV chasing our 12 year old cat seems like disaster waiting to happen. Can an RV tip over from that kind of ruckus??? And how many times are they going to take my legs out from under me as they try to beat me down a narrow hallway to get to the door? And maybe the bigger concern, where are all my shoes and my 100 cardigan sweaters going to go?
Needless to say, it took Greg awhile to convince me. But he did, and we laid out a well thought out plan in early 2022. Shifting to a lot less stuff, house and yard to take care of is a benefit but it’s really the economic side that convinced me…no real bills, no mortgage, no utilities (well, septic and solar power). If I last a year, the money we could save!! What if I last 18 months, even more saved! Can I go two years? Even I know that’s highly unrealistic for me.
We are two weeks out from our planned deadline to list the house. The economic environment is shifting a bit faster than we’d like so we feel some pressure to hit our July 31 deadline, even though we’re not quite where we’d like to be on the basic infrastructure on the new land. Remember it’s bare farm land so no water, no electric, no sewer. Although we have laid out the best plan, things never go as planned and given the current environment, it’s hard to get folks to come give estimates let alone actually commit to doing the work.
One thing we know how to do is work hard, so we are getting there step by step. It’s hard to see how it will all come together but it will be an adventure. I’m calling it a “growth experience” and focusing on the economics of it. I’m not sure how much capacity this stubborn 54 year old has for growth, but I’m going to try.
Me & My RV 